2015 Benue State gubernatorial election

Last updated
2015 Benue State gubernatorial election
  2011 April 11, 2015 2019  
 
Nominee Samuel Ortom Terhemen Tarzoor
Party APC PDP
Popular vote422,932313,878

Governor before election

Gabriel Suswam
PDP

Elected Governor

Samuel Ortom
APC

The 2015 Benue State gubernatorial election was the eighth gubernatorial election of Benue State. Held on April 11, 2015, the All Progressives Congress nominee Samuel Ortom won the election, defeating Terhemen Tarzoor of the People's Democratic Party. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

APC primary

APC primaries was supposed to be held on December 4, 2014, but it was shifted to December 5, 2014. [4] [5] [6] [7] On December 5, 2014, Steve Ugbah went to court and secured an injunction to stop the primaries because his name was excluded from the primaries. The injunction was later vacated on December 9, 2014. Days later, Samuel Ortom became APC candidate after other governorship aspirants stepped down for him and his name was submitted as the consensus candidate on December 11, 2014. [8] This happened at the end of a close door meeting in Makurdi, Benue State brokered by former governor of the state (1999 to 2007), George Akume. APC governorship aspirants that stepped down are Emmanuel Jime, Mike Iordye and Akange Audu. [9] Later, Steve Ugbah, Mike Iordye, JKN Waku and Akange Audu wrote to the APC national secretariat urging it to reject any name forwarded to it, because they didn't agree on a consensus candidate or conduct any primaries in Benue State. [10] [11] The case was later tabled to Abuja Federal High Court in suit number FHC/ABJ/ CS/1057/14, against the party leadership by Steve Ugbah, Emmanuel Jime, Mike Iordye and JKN Waku. During the court case, Mike Iordye told the court that he didn't authorise the filing of the suit and his name was struck out as a party. However, Steve Ugbah also notified the court about his withdrawal from the suit after he became the Director General of the Ortom/Abounu Governorship Campaign Organization, leaving only Emmanuel Jime and JKN Waku in the suit. [12] [13] In August 2015, Emmanuel Jime and JKN Waku finally withdrew their case in the court after the intervention of President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. [14]

Candidates

PDP primary

PDP candidate Terhemen Tarzoor defeated 7 other contestants to clinch the party ticket. [15] [16] [17] He won with 517 votes to defeat his closest rival and the deputy governor of the state, Steven Lawani, who received 311 votes. Samuel Ortom, former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment received 111 votes, Sam Odeh received 48 votes, Ada Chenge received 47 votes, Mike Kaase Aondoakaa received 25 votes, Mathias Oyigeya received 5 votes, Terhemba Shija received 3 votes. During the election, ten aspirants withdrew from the exercise due to personal reasons. Their names are Felix Atume, Andy Owouku, Alex Adum, James Mbachiantim, Tivlumun Nyitse, David Ker, Hinga Biem, Simon Anchaver, Eugine Aliegba and Terhemba Nongo. [18] [19]

Candidates

Other governorship aspirants and party

Results

A total of 8 candidates contested in the election. [20] [21] [22] [23]

2015 Benue State gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
APC Samuel Ortom 422,932
PDP Terhemen Tarzoor 313,878
APC hold

Aftermath

After the election, Terhemen Tarzoor from the People's Democratic Party challenged the outcome of the election at the Benue State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal. [24] [25] The PDP candidate told the tribunal that the APC candidate and the winner of the election, Samuel Ortom was not qualified because he was not validly nominated to contest the election by his party, the APC. [26] [27] [28] He also told the tribunal to declare that all votes scored by Samuel Ortom were invalid and that he should be declared the winner after certificate of return is withdrawn from Samuel Ortom. The tribunal upheld the election of Samuel Ortom. The case was also taken to the Appeal court and Supreme court, which also upheld the victory of Samuel Ortom in the election. [29] [30]

Related Research Articles

Samuel Ioraer Ortom is a Nigerian politician, businessman, administrator and philanthropist. He was a Minister of State Trade and Investments in Nigeria during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. Ortom was elected governor of Benue State as a member of the All Progressives Congress in 2015, though later defecting to the People's Democratic Party. He was re-elected as governor on 29 May 2019. Ortom's tenure ended on 29 May 2023, succeeded by a Catholic priest of the opposition party, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia.

Terhemen Tarzoor is a Nigerian Economist and Real Estate Developer from Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State in North Central Nigeria who currently serves as Nigerian Ambassador to Namibia. He previously served as Speaker in the Benue State House of Assembly in which he represented his constituency. Tarzoor came to prominence when he ran unsuccessfully for the seat of the Governor of Benue State, losing to Samuel Ortom in the 2015 General Elections. He finished runner-up despite running as a favorite candidate on the platform of the then ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He went on to challenge the result of the election in a petition filed to the Benue State Governorship Tribunal claiming that the winner, Governor Samuel Ortom, was not validly nominated to contest for the seat. His claim was however dismissed by the court of appeal on grounds that it lacked merit.

The 2019 Benue State gubernatorial election occurred on March 9, 2019. Incumbent PDP Governor Samuel Ortom won re-election for a second term, defeating APC Emmanuel Jime and several minor party candidates. Samuel Ortom emerged PDP gubernatorial candidate after scoring 2,210 votes and defeating his closest rival, John Tondo, who received 475 votes. He picked Benson Abounu as his running mate. Emmanuel Jime was the APC candidate with Samuel Ode as his running mate. 3 candidates contested in the election.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Benue State gubernatorial election</span> 2023 gubernatorial election in Benue State, Nigeria

The 2023 Benue State gubernatorial election took place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Benue State, concurrent with elections to the Benue State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly. The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was held three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections. Incumbent PDP Governor Samuel Ortom was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term. Hyacinth Alia — a suspended Catholic priest — gained the office for the APC by a 33% margin over PDP nominee House of Assembly Speaker Titus Uba.

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