Fact-Check Dispels Suswam’s 2019 Benue Election Claim
A fact-check of the 2019 Benue governorship election results has debunked the claim by former Governor Gabriel Suswam that Governor Samuel Ortom only won in the three Sankera local government areas, showing instead that Ortom secured victory in six of the seven local governments in Benue North East Senatorial District, according to official INEC records.
This was contained in a statement by the Media Adviser/Consultant to Chief Ortom, Dr Terver Akase, on Monday.
The statement read: “The claim by former Governor of Benue State Senator Gabriel Suswam that Governor Samuel Ortom won in only the three local governments that make up Sankera during the 2019 governorship election and lost the rest of the local government areas in Benue North East (Zone A) is not only false but grossly misleading.
It is shocking that such a claim would come from a man who not only governed Benue State for two terms but also represented Zone A in the Senate and actively participated in that year’s election. One would expect accuracy, not a rewriting of recent and well-documented history.
The official 2019 Benue governorship election results as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which can still be accessed from the commission’s website, clearly show that Governor Samuel Ortom defeated his closest challenger, Emmanuel Jime of the APC, in six of the seven local government areas of Benue North East (Zone A).
The breakdown of the results in six of the Zone A local governments is as follows:
Ukum LGA: Ortom – 23,156/Jime – 11,790
Logo LGA: Ortom – 30,803/Jime – 4,586
Ushongo LGA: Ortom – 22,703/Jime – 14,683
Konshisha LGA: Ortom – 21,980/Jime – 13,802
Vandeikya LGA: Ortom – 27,725/Jime – 19,079
Kwande LGA: Ortom – 29,241 /Jime – 22,786
The only local government in Zone A where Governor Ortom did not win in 2019 was Katsina-Ala, where he scored 17,980 votes against Jime’s 21,614. Incidentally, Katsina-Ala is part of the immediate constituency of Senator Suswam.
These figures are not matters of opinion; they are verifiable election records. Senator Suswam’s assertion that Governor Ortom lost all local governments in Zone A is therefore entirely unfounded.
One is left to wonder why a former governor and senator has chosen to forget such a significant part of Benue’s electoral history and instead put forward figures that simply do not exist. Public discourse, especially from senior political figures, demands honesty and respect for facts.
Facts remain facts, regardless of convenience.
Finally, it is important to emphasize that Chief Ortom has no interest in whom Senator Suswam chooses to support in 2027 and has no intention of interfering in that choice. However, he should refrain from using His Excellency Ortom as a bargaining chip to seek political patronage, as he attempted to do yesterday in Ugba. The immediate past Governor of Benue State is not contesting for any elective office in 2027 and has made this position clear, public, and unequivocal.”
