The Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated its former National Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade over reports that he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
PDP described Gemade as a political nomad whose unquenchable taste for power drives him around without shame.
The party stated this in reaction to reports that the senator dumped the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the APC on Saturday.
The party’s position was contained in a statement signed by the Benue State Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom.
According to PDP, Gemade is fast losing electoral value.
The party, which said it was amused by the reported defection, noted, “Ordinarily, the PDP should not concern itself with an exercise which is a mere charade by well known perennial political nomads, however, considering Senator Gemade’s quoted statement at the decamping that his move to APC has sent jitters down the spines of PDP and other political parties in the state, it is noteworthy to state a few facts salient and relevant to the situation.
“Firstly, underscoring the irrelevance of this charade of a decamping is the loud question; As a former National Chairman of a ruling party, former Minister and former Senator, why was the Benue State Leader of the APC, Senator George Akume, conspicuously absent at the decamping ceremony yesterday?
“Was Senator Gemade’s diminishing political value not highlighted by his abysmally poor performance in his Senatorial re-election bid in 2019 on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he lost even in his native Mbawar and placed third in the race behind a political greenhorn like Mimi Orubibi, after he had junketed from APC to PDP and then to SDP all in the space of a few months?”
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The party reminded the senator that SDP did not win in any ward in all elections in the state since he joined in 2019.
“He ought to also remember that PDP won the governorship election, 3 senatorial seats out of 3, 7 House of Representatives seats of 11 and 23 Benue State House of Assembly seats out of 30. The party also has 23 elected council chairmen out of 23 and 276 elected councilors,” the PDP stated.
The party said it did not have to become jittery on Gemade’s account as he was not a member of PDP when it won all the elections held in the state since 2019.
“It is unfortunate that while politicians of Senator Gemade’s generation, like Senator David Mark, are retiring and leaving room on the leadership stage for their proteges, the septuagenerian is still embarking on political quests suitable for his children’s generation.
“Moreover, by his known antecedent, the erstwhile Benue North-East Senator’s insatiable appetite for political power makes him more of a disruptive influence wherever he goes.
“His current voyage into the APC is most likely ill-fated, as feelers indicate his motive is to wrestle the leadership of the party in Benue from Senator Akume whom he believes lost relevance following the party’s defeat to PDP in 2019,” the PDP stated.