Barely 17 days to the commencement of the 2023 general elections, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has been assured of over one million votes in Benue State.
This was as Atiku was predicted to emerge winner of the February 25th presidential election.
Atiku held his campaign rally in Makurdi, the state capital on Monday evening, after a series of postponements, which was not unconnected to the rift between the state governor, Samuel Ortom and the national leadership of the party.
PDP’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu hails from Benue State and is not on good terms with Ortom
However, the coordinator of the Benue Voters in Diaspora, BVD, Chief Bright Igodo Ogaji said, contrary to opinions from some quarters, Atiku would poll massive votes in Benue State.
In a statement, Ogaji said the turnout at Atiku’s rally in Makurdi and the level of “mobilization” by various PDP stakeholders both at home and in diaspora, is a testament that the PDP’s candidate would sweep Benue at the poll.
He said: “I have seen the level of love and acceptability from the people. From what I saw yesterday at the rally, Atiku is the man to beat and nothing would stop Benue people from giving him over a million votes.
“I know it’s very difficult to believe, owing to what people have been saying and hearing about Benue, but the power lies with the voters. You can see from the massive turnout today and I kid you not, we the registered voters in the diaspora are also mobilizing our people at home to give their support to Atiku Abubakar. He is the best for now.
“Some of our members who registered in Lagos, Abuja and other areas of residence before leaving Nigeria, have already transferred their voting power to Benue. For some of us, we registered right here in Benue and our PVCs are in thousands, we shall speak with one voice come February 25th, 2023 and return Atiku as our next President. Benue has always been delivering for PDP and this time around, it’s going to be massive, unprecedented”.
The US-based philanthropist and former chairman of Oju Local Government Council added: “Unlike in 2019 when PDP’s Atiku polled 355,355 against the APC’s 347,668, the people of Benue would give the PDP’s candidate landslide votes, over one million votes is guaranteed for him.”
To make it a reality, Ogaji said all members of BVD from various countries would be arriving in Nigeria and Benue State in the coming days, for what he described as “aggressive grassroots mobilization for Atiku and PDP.”
