2023: SDP, Labour Party Go Into Alliance In Benue

Benue state chapters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and that of the Labour Party (LP), on Monday went into an alliance in preparation for the 2023 general election.

This according to the SDP Chairman in Benue John Enemari, was to support the Labour Party to bring good governance and revamp the socioeconomic fortunes of Benue State.

In a press conference held in Makurdi, the SDP Chairman expressed that the choice of Hon. Herman Hembe as the Labour party’s governorship candidate in the state was a divine mandate that deserves unanimous support of all Benue citizens to ensure the desired Benue of their dreams is actualised.

He said: “The man that is coming is a young man that has done very well in his constituency. This is his fourth time at the National Assembly and he has proven that he can take Benue to the greater level of development”.

According to Enemari, the crisis at the national level has destabilised the SDP in all the states of the federation which led to factions in the party.

He noted that it was time for the state chapters of the party to take their future into their hand.

Enemari also accused the national leadership of the SDP of embezzling several millions of naira generated from aspirants in the build-up to the 2019 general election.

“We can not continue to suffer for them at the national office; the national office ripped close to N100 million from the Benue SDP in 2018 but no kobo was sent to us to work for the party.

“By the Party’s constitution, we were supposed to get not less than N75 million from the sales of forms in accordance with the Section 72(2), but these people in Abuja sat on it.

“In a party, if you don’t win election, what do you do? Now they are in court and we want them to continue.

Benue is not a revenue-yielding state for them. Benue now needs good governance, we can not remain idle, we must work with those with integrity to deliver the state,” Enemari stated.

In his response, the governorship candidate of the Labour party, Heman Hembe thanked the SDP for the decision and expressed that the alliance was a solid foundation for the Labour party in Benue to wrestle power from the PDP.