Nigerian Concord Newspaper
As the 2027 general elections get closer so also is the race for who represents Vandekya/Konshisha (Jechira) at the Green Chambers of the National Assembly gets interesting with different twists everyday.
Presently, three notable sons of Jechira are jostling for the ticket of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC to determine who flies the flag of the party in the 2027 general elections.
They are:
1. Engineer Livinus Adzer Tsar, PhD, the convener of Livitsar Support Group for Tinubu/Alia and also a very close ally of the governor of Benue State, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia. Recall that the Support Group with over 6 millions members across the twenty three local government areas of Benue State and beyond the state has promised to secure 2 million votes for both President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia in the next elections.
2. Rt. Hon. Cephas Dyako, a two term members of the Benue State House of Assembly, representing Konshisha State Constituency.
3. Rt. Hon. Sesoo Gboko, a serving member representing Jechira at the House of Representatives since 2023.
However, there is another relatively unknown aspirant, Vandefa Gemade, who is banking on the support from his father , Senator Barnabas Gemade but the people of Jechira have said in one voice that he is not fit for the job..
A team of assessors from Nigerian Concord Newspaper went on an independent evaluation of the contributions of the trio of Tsar, Dyako and Gboko to the Jechira axis.
Our team of assessors did a good evaluation, judging of value, quality, and performance of the aspirants from All Progressive Congress and wrote below:
RT. HON. CEPHAS DYAKO: Dyako, a very young man who was able to win elections and assumed duties as a State lawmaker at a very young age in 2019 has little to show for his seven years as a member of the State House of Assembly.
According to findings, Dyako’s representation is very poor to the extents that eighty percent of his Constituents complained bitterly about him during the evaluation process.
For instance, the people of his village, Awajir, bitterly complained how they have been in total darkness without any efforts from their representative, Dyako to facilitate electricity to the place.
One expects a village such as Awajir which produced a two term lawmaker to enjoy basic amenities like light and good roads. It’s sad that no one can explain why Dyako is yet to bring progress home since seven years that he has been a member of the House of Assembly. Charity, they say begins from home so if Dyako has failed to provide basic amenities for his own village, then how can he take care of a whole State Constituency not to talk of Jechira Federal Constituency?
Till today, the only community secondary school in Dyako’s place has dilapidated structures and the school is facing several challenges as it has never benefitted from Dyako’s representation.
It is also on record that Awajir, the headquarters of Iwarnyam Council Ward has never witnessed a single developmental project since Dyako assumed duties as a State lawmaker in 2019. His people are asking him where all the money he had got and still getting for Constituency projects go to.
Little wonder one of his subjects known as Aondona Lubem once wrote that despite the huge funds available to Hon. Dyako, the constituency has been experiencing performances that are not impressing.
According to him, Dyako has failed in the areas of youth empowerment, educational support, infrastructural development, human development and others areas like that.
Recall that Dyako was suspended by the leadership of the House of Assembly recently for taking bribe to alter reports of the financial crimes and other allegations against the chairman of Otukpo local government. He was suspended with some other members of the House.
RT. HON. SESOO GBOKO: A very lucky young man who, despite all odds was able to win the House of Representatives election in 2023 has also failed in so many areas.
During our evaluation on his representation, it was gathered that no meaningful project has been started and completed by him since he assumed duties at the Green Chamber.
His constituents from both Vandekya and Konshisha local governments complained bitterly that he is not accessible. Saying that his representation has been the poorest in the history of Jechira, they also complained that he always surrounds himself with thugs and security officers each time he comes to Benue State, and this makes it impossible for his subjects to access him.
Going forward, Hon. Gboko’s constituents said that 2027 is a pay back time for him if he luckily clinches the APC ticket. They said it’s a time when they won’t reward failure with a second chance.
Apart from complaints that Sesoo Gboko has been diverting several hundreds of millions of Naira he has gotten from the federal government for Constituency projects into his private use, his subjects also said that they won’t vote for him in 2027 for failing to demonstrate sufficient capacity since three years that he had been elected as a Reps member. They bitterly complained that there has been no federal presence in Jechira since Sesoo assumed duties in 2023.
Our findings showed that Sesoo had once been publicly beaten and harassed by angry Jechira youths who asked him to account for his stewardship at the House of Representatives. The sad event took place sometimes ago In Tse Agberagba while attending the burial of late Ter Ikyor.
The angry youths who came from all the council wards across the two local governments in Jechira said that they were tired of empty promises and inaccessibility from Hon. Sesoo Gboko..
According to them, they need to replace Sesoo Gboko with another vibrant representative who will let their voices be heard and also work tirelessly for the development of the Federal Constituency..
According to them, Hon. Sesoo Gboko has been giving them fake promises over their agitations for the reconstruction of Jijigbe bridge connecting Adamgbe Mbayongo and mbaduku community.
Those who volunteered to speak with this newspaper during the assessment exercise said that Konshisha which is a major part of Jechira is yet to celebrate a commercial bank, good roads, light and other social amenities through Sesoo Gboko since he assumed duties as their representative at the Green Chambers.
They concluded that Rt. Hon. Gboko should step aside In 2027 since it appears that he cannot solve any of the problems facing Jechira Federal Constituency..
ENGINEER LIVINUS TSAR, PhD, a private individual, entrepreneur, philanthropist and a close associate of Governor Hyacinth Alia is one of the very few Benue sons who have come out with their personal funds to support any governoment of the day with projects like road construction, electricity, water, skill acquisition, empowerment for farmers, students, the old people, vulnerable people, the IDPs, youths and women..
Through his Livitsar Support Group, Chief Livinus Tsar has been able to demonstrate that he is ready to deliver federal presence to Jechira is elected as a representative of the Green Chambers in 2027.
During our evaluation in Jechira, it was gathered that Tsar is presently constructing roads worth billions of Naira across the two local governments in Jechira. One of the roads is even linking the federal Constituency to Benue Northeast senatorial zone..
Apart from that, Tsar through his Livitsar Support Group has embarked on electricity in some parts of Konshisha and Vandekya in order to make life bearable for the people of the areas since they have been abandoned by their representatives both at the national and state levels.
Some persons who spoke with this newspaper in Mbake area of Konshisha praised Tsar for the Construction of Motorized Borehole with water reticulation for them. According to them, a man who has been spending his billions of Naira to develop his area should be given a responsibility as their representative at the House of Representatives in 2027. This is apart from the 56 Solar motorized boreholes with reticulation which he constructed across the state last year.
Recall that Dr. Tsar was recently awarded with a Honorary Doctorate Degree by American University of Peace and Governance in conjunction with the UNIPGC as a result of his leadership qualities and philanthropic gestures to the people and communities in Benue state.
Our findings also showed that through his Livitsar Support Group, Dr. Tsar is presently sponsoring massive skil acquisition for youths, farmers, traders, and women of the twenty three local government areas of Benue State with a N300,000 starting grant for each successful participant.
This gesture is what the people of Jechira described as selfless. They said the initiator, Tsar has demonstrated that he is a lover of the governor of the State by making sure that the massive skill acquisition empowerment for about 9,000 people cuts across the state.
Some leaders, stakeholders and executive officers of the All Progressive Congress in Jechira lauded him for being a good party man with his massive support for the E-Registration exercise of members of the ruling party as well as the INEC Voters registration exercise.
According to them, what Tsar is doing for the party is beyond his personal or political ambition but effors to ensure that the party wins at all levels in 2027..
The leaders of the party lauded Tsar for his efforts to ensure that the Shangev-Tiev State Constituency was recognized and approved by the National Assembly. They said that only a party man can do this with his personal funds.