The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has forged an alliance with the Labour Party in preparation for the forthcoming general election.
Chairman of the SDP in Benue State, John Enemari, made the disclosure at a news conference in Makurdi on Monday.
Ememari said the leadership of his party had directed all party chairmen, its executives at the 276 electoral wards and the 23 local government areas to support the Labour Party for good governance to revamp the socioeconomic fortunes of the people in Benue State.
Speaking at the conference, where he led members of its executive across the three senatorial zones and council wards in the state, Enemari charged them to go and build the Labour Party and support its candidates.
“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, House of Representatives; once you mention his name, they will tell you they know him. My people are calling me, ‘Chairman, where do you want us to go?’ I said, ‘Look, wait, I met with him and we spoke, so my people we are going to work with him’ (Herman Hembe).”
The SDP boss in the state said the crisis at the national level has destabilised the party in all the states of the federation, which he said, led to having factions in the party.
Enemari said the time had come when the party in the state had to take its future in its hand, accusing the national leadership of the party of sweeping the state office of several millions of naira generated from aspirants in the build-up to the 2019 general election.
“We cannot 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 one kobo was sent to us to work for the party and by the party constitution we were supposed to get not less than N75 million from the sales of forms in accordance with the party’s constitution, 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. Let them continue. Benue is not a revenue yielding state for them. Benue now needs good governance; we cannot remain idle. We must work with those with integrity to deliver the state,” Enemari said.
Before concluding on the Labour Party, Enemari said the state leadership had consulted with other parties like the APC, the PDP, but said it didn’t work out.
“Since we did not have a governorship candidate, we have decided to give our full support and to ensure that Labour Parry wins in Benue State and salvage the state from the infrastructural deficit and failed promises,” he said.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate, Heman Hembe, expressed happiness with the alliance.
Speaking through his senior legislative aide, Jude Nyor, Hembe said the SDP was a good party that understood where the country was moving and called other parties in the state to join the Labour Party.