Governor Suswam, Lawani at loggerheads over 2015 guber race; deputy may dump PDP

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam and his Deputy, Steve Lawani are currently not in good terms over the latter’s intention to contest for the state’s governorship election in 2015.

Things fell apart between the two politicians when Lawani in a recent public function held in Otukpo, the ancestral kingdom of the Idoma nation called on his kinsmen to support him to break the jinx as the first Idoma man to govern Benue State.

However, his decision did not go down well with governor Suswam who DailyPost learnt had secretly anointed Minister of Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom for the number one seat.

A reliable insider had informed DailyPost that though, Lawani had told Suswam of his intention to join the governorship race, his boss neither disapprove nor accept his request, but asked him to still go for consultations.

According to the source who would not want his name mentioned, “Suswam and his Deputy, Lawani have been at loggerheads for over two months now since his Deputy informed him of his plan to succeed him in 2015.”

“When Lawani first informed his boss, Suswan of his governorship ambition, a few months back, the governor thought he was joking and thus advised him to consult the Senate President for approval before making his intention known,” the source said.

However, David Mark at a meeting held in Otukpo recently told the Idoma people to forget ruling the state, saying that they can only be governor if the long-awaited Apa State was created.

Mark, the Okpokpowulu of Idoma land at the event, which had Lawani in attendance had told his kinsmen to forget ruling the state, noting that the Tiv, which is the majority would never give them the chance of governing the food basket state.

Apparently angered by Mark’s assertion, Lawani left the place and a week later, rolled out his campaign posters, announcing his arrival as candidate for the next election.

Our source said Suswam had since ordered that the posters of Lawami be removed from the streets of Makurdi.

The source said, “The Governor and his Deputy have been engaging in war of words since the latter opened up on his governorship ambition.”

Further investigation revealed that Suswam has been grooming Ortom for the number one seat.

DailyPost further learnt that Lawani may dump PDP for APC if the ruling party denies him ticket.

“He (Lawani) had met with top members of the APC in the state to inform them of his plans to succeed Suswam,” another source said.

Prior to the ongoing saga, Suswa and Lawani had maintained a close and refreshing relationship, which according to political analysts should ‘serve as a veritable point of reference or model for leaders who are really prepared to provide effective and sincere political leadership at all levels of governance where virtues of team work, collective sense of purpose and spirit of give and take should normally hold sway in the interest of the people that elected them to office.

However, the once cordial relationship has gone sour.