From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, a media consultant and president of Dreams and Vision Resource Center, Dr Bem Ugoh, has enjoined delegates of the various party conventions to put the interest and benefit of the general masses above the criteria of selfish pecuniary rewards and sentiments in choosing who becomes their flag bearers.
He also charged political parties to present their best to fly their flags in the forthcoming elections so that whoever emerges as leaders would be able to favourably perform the duty of the office for which he or she has been elected.
“Considering the grave consequences of a wrong decision that may derail our course and imperil the future of generations, it is my sincere opinion that in choosing flag bearers for parties in the general election, we must present the best for healthy competition as we usher in a new era of political civilization and model of democracy that is strongly premised on merit, excellence and credibility in order to balance service with accountability.
Ugoh who made this appeal during a press conference organised by the Center in Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Wednesday urges the people to rise and arrest the systematic drift to forestall an eventual collapse which can only be possible through decisive participation in electing leaders to restore sovereignty rule.
The University lecturer posited that: “As the election year approaches, politicians in their usual tricks are confusing the scene with cosmetic rivalries, bitterness and supremacy battles.
“Indeed, the current waves for zoning and consensus are hardly premised on standards of merit or excellence as required in the digital era. This confusion points to a direction that the ultimate and eventual results may still produce outrageous conclusions to shortchange popular will as usual.
“Therefore, this address is meant to reawaken the consciousness of the electorates towards the sacredness of choice-making with a genuine conviction beyond pecuniary and trivial considerations.
He appealed to all those who are seeking the mandate to occupy the position of governor to put the interest of the state above every other primordial consideration.
Ugoh who noted that Benue particularly deserves the best in her current situation in order to re-launch her prominence in the comity of states said the story of the state is that of a discovery economy with inexhaustible potential that is completely left untapped all this while.
“The challenge of Governance confronting the emerging leadership is the capacity to transform the viability of a non-oil sector economy. It is time to define her domestic economic viability beyond the politics of power struggles which has occupied governance in her thriving succession. This is the time to integrate economic development in our political trajectory,” he posited.