Electoral processes leading to the 2027 general elections are in top gear. Political parties’ Secretariats are now a beehive of activities with aspirants buying and submitting completed nomination and expression of interest forms.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but eight states including Anambra; Bayelsa; Edo; Ekiti; Imo; Kogi; Ondo; and Osun, elections will be held for the office of the President, the Vice-President, the Governors, and Deputy Governors of the other states as well as for National and State Assembly members from all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Benue State is among the states where all the categories of elections will be conducted by INEC in 2027. One of the most talked-about elections in the state is the Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency election. Gboko/Tarka is significant because, in addition to housing the administrative headquarters of the Tiv, it is home to Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and his wife, Rep. Regina Akume, the incumbent representative of the federal constituency.
Rep Regina, who was First Lady of Benue State when her husband, Sen Akumw, served as Governor from 1999 to 2007, is also running for a second term. She is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, Nathaniel Ikyur, a former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to former Governor Samuel Ortom and known by his supporters as “Ikyur i Gboko/Tarka,” thinks it’s time to change the narratives regarding representative governance in the constituency.
When asked if he was not challenging his mother, Rep Regina, something akin to affront on Sen Akume, Ikyur told TNT that the election is “a friendly contest between a mother and a son.”
According to Mr Ikyur, “There are no hard feelings. When a mother goes for a journey, and the son feels he should go and help the mother, there is nothing wrong with that.”
At the party level, Ikyur was declared the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) consensus aspirant for the race. This means that as far as his party is concerned, he is unopposed for the 2027 PDP ticket for the Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency election.
He is already talking about the future for Gboko/Tarka.
“My victory is for all of us. I remain committed to our great party and to providing purposeful, inclusive, and people-oriented representation for the good people of Gboko/Tarka federal constituency.
“With unity, victory is possible come 2027,” he said after he was returned as a consensus candidate by the PDP stakeholders from his constituency.
This is not the first time the author of the bestselling book Aper Aku: The rise of minority politics in Nigeria will be contesting the election. He previously contested in 2003 and came second on the ballot, with over 23,000 votes.
He is counting on his eight years of experience as a Senior Legislative Aide at the National Assembly and his connection within the Nigerian parliament to be a sound representative of the people of Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency.
With his emergence as his party’s unopposed and consensus candidate for the 2027 Gboko/Tarka federal constituency election, Ikyur thinks the coast is clear for his victory song.
What he is waiting for as he picks his nomination and expression of interest forms is his challenger at the general election and the day of the ballot. His message remains simple but promising: The 2027 elections present a defining moment, so the people must elect leaders who will turn promises into performance.
“I will make that happen. I’m not just promising, I will perform,” Ikyur assures.
Apart from Rep Regina, a former Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Bem Angwe, and Mr Torhile Uchi are other aspirants vying for the APC ticket for the same election. Why does Rwp Twgina want a return ticket? Both Prof. Angwe and Mr Uchi think it is time to try someone different.
Prof. Angwe, in particular, thinks the button should move to Gboko, one of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) that comprise the federal constituency.
Wherever the pendulum swings to in APC, Ikyur says he is not afraid of his would-be opponents, including those from other “smaller parties.”
In the interim, Gboko/Tarka is pregnant. Only time shall tell what is in the womb.
