Nigerian Concord Newspaper
A senatorial aspirant for Benue Northwest Senatorial Zone under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, Barrister Emmanuel Jime is set to dump the party for the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
This was disclosed to Nigerian Concord newspaper by one of Jime’s top aides who preferred not to be mentioned because of the sensitivity of the matter.
It was gathered that Jime’s absence at two critical events hosted by Governor Hyacinth Alia and the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC last Friday and Saturday was a result of his planned defection to the African Democratic Congress where he wants to seek for a ticket to contest the 2027 senatorial election.
Governor Hyacinth Alia had on Friday invited major political actors in Benue state across party lines to a dinner where matters that concerns the state were discussed but Barrister Jime declined the invitation without giving any serious reason for his absence.
It would be recalled that Yesterday too, the state chapter of All Progressive Congress held its first stakeholders meeting in Makurdi with almost all the party members and critical stakeholders in attendance but, Jime, a former governorship candidate of the party also failed to attend. He didn’t give any reason for his absence.
But report available to the newspaper indicated that Jime has been with a leader of the ADC and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi in Abuja where he is putting final touches to his planned defection from the APC.
According to findings, Jime is planning to join Amaechi in ADC because of his discovery that it will be practically impossible for him to secure the Zone B senatorial ticket under the All Progressive Congress as a result of his low popularity and zoning arrangement.
Sources said that Jime’s failure to perform as MD of NEPZA and Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council is also a reason no APC member wants to align with his senatorial ambition
Many party stakeholders who had spoken with this newspaper in the past about the contest said that zoning issue won’t let Jime get the ticket since his Ihyerev clan had produced senator twice. They also said that Masev had produced senator twice too leaving the Nongo clan which has never produced a senator.
It was gathered that Amaechi has promised to make Jime the leader of the ADC in Benue with the information that a former governor of the State, Mr. Gabriel Suswam is on his way to join All Progressive Congress.
“Yes, Suswam is joining APC in a matter of weeks so as to secure favours from the Tinubu-led administration to take the EFCC off his back in the N3.1billion corruption case on his neck. So Oga (Jime) has been promised the leadership of the ADC in Benue state immediately Suswam leaves for APC” another Aide to Jime told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, party members who spoke on the social media have condemned Barrister Jime for shunning the two important events which were held in Makurdi on Friday and Saturday.
They said that he could still attend even if he has truly planned to join the ADC as rumoured.
This newspaper had in September published a story that Barrister Jime met Mr. Rotimi Amaechi for the second time and had also directed his supporters to quit the APC and join the ADC pending his own defection from the ruling party.
In September, Jime directed his closest political associate, Mr. Godwin Unum to decamp to ADC where he will be contesting the 2027 Makurdi/Guma House of Representatives election.
Report also has it that he has directed all the members of Jime Youth Vanguard under the leadership of Comrade Albert Utoo to join the African Democratic Congress as well.
Recall that Jime and Amaechi had met privately twice in Abuja and Lagos in the last two months.
Investigation by Nigerian Concord Newspaper confirmed that the meeting which held at the Abuja residence of the former Rivers State governor also had a former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, and an immediate past member of the House of Representatives from Sankera, Mr. Richard Gbande in attendance.
According to sources at the meeting, Jime openly stated that it’s hard for him to work with Governor Hyacinth Alia in 2027 hence his plan to join the opposition coalition in order to secure his senatorial ambition.
Jime who stated that it’s impossible for him to get the ticket in All Progressive Congress stressed that he that he had directed his followers from Jemgbagh, minda and Ihiarev to defect to ADC ahead of his own coming.
The former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council noted that his followers have already been registered by the acting chairman and secretary of the African Democratic Congress in Benue state.
Corroborating Jime’s claim, Senator Gabriel Suswam told Amaechi and other ADC national leaders at the meeting that he had personally received hundreds of his (Jime) supporters into the opposition coalition in Benue state.
Richard Gbande also confirmed that three of Jime’s former campaign coordinators in Sankera axis have defected to the African Democratic Congress on the order of their principal two weeks ago.
In his reaction, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi lauded Barrister Jime for his efforts to boost the membership of the opposition coalition party in Benue state
Amaechi also assured him that his interest will be protected in the party just like he promised him at their previous meetings in July and August.
The former Rivers State governor however promised to discuss with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku for the release of funds which Jime had requested for in order to move round the state in his quest to harvest members for the African Democratic Congress.
This newspaper had also reported a story where it enumerated why Jime cannot be senator in Benue state.
Read the report below:
As aspirants begin their consultations ahead of the 2026 primaries, there is one man who may not be favoured at all despite his manipulation, and the person is Barrister Emmanuel Jime.
Barrister Jime, a former governorship candidate of All Progressive Congress in Benue state is aspiring to be senator for the Benue Northwest Senatorial District in 2027.
Despite the fact that Jime has been dropping Governor Hyacinth Alia’s name everywhere he goes to consult, there are possibilities that he will not be favoured as a result of the negative things which the people of Benue Northwest Senatorial District are saying about him.
According to findings, the people of Benue State are still very angry with him over his roles in the financing of the Fulani herders association in Benue state in 2018. Several people of the State were killed by Fulani herders between 2015 and 2018. Barrister Jime was directly involved in the provision of funds for the mauraders who were hell bent on taking Benue lands.
It would be recalled that Jime was working with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. George Akume, who was at that time a senator to give support to Fulani herders association as a way to please the then President, Muhammadu Buhari, who is now late. Buhari at that time was the life patron of the Miyetti Allah group nationwide.
This cost Jime the support he would have secured from Benue voters who weren’t ready to listen to him as a result of his direct involvement in insecurity and killing of innocent people.
Apart from this, the people of Gboko and the Tiv nation are still nursing the wounds they sustained from Emmanuel Jime’s loud threats to dethrone the Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse over what he described as disloyalty. Jime had in 2018 accused the Tiv monarch of showing much loyalty to the then governor who was also his rival, Chief Samuel Ortom PhD.
As a result of this, he threatened to remove the monarch immediately he was sworn-in as governor in 2019 but the entire Tiv people retaliated by giving their bloc votes to Chief Ortom. This alone is a reason Jime’s aspiration to represent the same Tiv community at the Senate will never fly. The Tiv people hardly forgive. They will still treat him the way they treated him in 2019 during the contest between him and Chief Samuel Ortom..
A survey by this newspaper showed that the people of Benue Northwest Senatorial District are lovers of performing office holders. This has placed Jime below bar as he had failed them woefully when he was Speaker of the House of Assembly in 1992. Jime had no single projects to his name as speaker. The people of the state are ganging up to ask him to enumerate his achievements as speaker in 1992 to 1993 if there were any.
Apart from being a speaker, Barrister Jime held two important positions under the federal government, Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council. During these periods, Jime wasn’t accessible to the people of Benue State.
Benue people who spoke to this newspaper stated that the senatorial aspirant cannot point to just one person whom he secured a job for while he held these two lucrative federal appointments. They said he practically barred the people of Benue State from coming to his offices. Many that tried to visit him at those times lamented how they were manhandled by his security men.
“Those who had headed the Shippers Council as well as NEPZA in the past did a lot to help their people but the reverse was the case with Jime who hardly came to Benue state to support the people of the State. “The only time you will see him in Benue state is during elections, and we are very wise that we won’t trust him with any elective responsibility since he had failed us in the past” a leader of the All Progressive Congress in Masev who didn’t want to be mentioned said.
He continued: “This is Jime who is living in a house built by the government for Loan income earners in Aper Aku Estate, North Bank. He isn’t a good ambassador of the state.
Someone who was always removing his shirts to fight physically when he was a member of the House of Representatives. He doesn’t have a good relationship with previous governors. He fought George Akume, Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom. He lost his last election because the people of Benue now know him well. You remember that Jime and some thugs were caught by operatives of the EFCC in 2019 with a bag containing N20 million. He wanted to use the money to induce voters. How can someone like the say that he wants to become a senator.
“Ask Jime if he has a Chamber here in Benue state or if he even built any house here in Makurdi. He has always been living at a low income earners apartment in Makurdi. How can we say such a man is serious about holding an elective office. We don’t even know his wife and children. His immediate family has never been to Benue state. How can such a man say that he wants to be a senator over six local governments.
“Emmanuel Jime is living like a foreigner who doesn’t even have a base in Benue state because his chambers and houses are outside the state. We can only be sure of his seriousness if he has a Chamber or businesses in Benue state where he is employing the people of the State. How can someone who has never touched any life positively want to be a senator. We will surely give him the same treatment we gave him in 2019”
Another important angle which this newspaper found out during its survey is that Barrister Emmanuel Jime’s clan, Ihyerev has produced senator twice while Masev clan has also produced senator twice. It’s only the Nongov clan that has never produced a senator so there is no way Zoning will favour him.
Apart from that, it was discovered that Barrister Jime and the current speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Berger Alfred are from the same Council Ward. If equity and fairness are put in place in 2026, there is no way he will emerge as the senatorial candidate of APC or even any political party.
“It’s possible that the governor has settled him with speakership from his local government and council ward so trying to enter the senatorial race in 2027 will not be a tea party for him as zoning, equity and fairness will not favour him” another member of the party from Zone B said .
Talking of achievements, Jime as a two term member of the House of Representatives for Makurdi/Guma had no single projects to his name despite the huge funds he received as a federal lawmaker. While his colleagues were using their constituency allowances to develop their respective federal zones, Barrister Jime was busy looting the constituency allowances given to him.
“How can such a man who did nothing as a member of the House of Representatives for eight years now say that he wants to be a senator. We are going to make him explain why he always engaged his colleagues in physical fight on the floor of the House as a Reps member” a senior member of Markurdi/Guma federal constituency said to this newspaper.