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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
An aggrieved faction of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Benue South Senatorial District, under the aegis of the NDC Integrity Group, has declared support for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group, led by its Zonal Coordinator, Yakubu Audu, made the declaration on Friday when it paid a courtesy visit to Moro at the National Assembly.
It also pledged support for the strategic political alliance being championed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, in Benue State.
The group said its decision to support Moro over the NDC senatorial candidate, Daniel Onje, was informed by its desire to sustain what it described as effective representation and retain the voice of Benue South in the Senate.
Audu said Moro’s performance as Senate Minority Leader and his representation of the district since 2019 influenced the group’s decision.
“The voice you have been giving the Benue South Senatorial District in the Senate needs to be sustained in the 11th National Assembly. We cannot bring any new person into the Senate for Benue South now without the needed voice,” he said.
He added: “In picking you outside our party as the preferred candidate for the senatorial contest, we are taking the right step for the general interest of Benue South Senatorial District on account of the effective representation you have been giving the people since 2019.
“In line with the saying that whoever the cap fits, let him wear it, we are here to openly pledge our support for you in the coming election.”
Also speaking, the State Coordinator of the NDC Integrity Group, Emmanuel Orih, said the group’s support for Tinubu and Moro was in line with the strategic alliance being championed by Akume.
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Orih said the group remained a member of the NDC but had adopted an electoral coalition strategy for the 2027 presidential and senatorial elections.
“For the 2027 general election, particularly for Benue South, our concept is electoral coalition, which is making us to prefer Distinguished Senator Abba Moro, the candidate of the PDP, for the senatorial election and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC as our preferred presidential candidate,” he said.
“We are in the NDC but see Senator Abba Moro of the PDP as the most suitable candidate for Benue South Senatorial District and President Bola Tinubu as the preferred candidate for the presidency.”
Responding, Moro thanked the group for what he described as placing the interests of Benue South above partisan considerations.
He said the group’s position aligned with the strategic alliance led by Akume, which he said he supported in the interest of the people of Benue State.
Moro said voters’ choices in the 2027 elections would be influenced by promises and what candidates had delivered.
“For the presidential election, are we to listen to candidates that will come and tell us what they plan to do or vote for the one that is already doing concrete things?” he asked.
Moro cited road infrastructure projects, including the Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi Road and the Otukpo-Enugu Federal Highway, as examples of projects he attributed to the Tinubu administration.
“For me, such a person, on the template of reality, should be the preferred presidential candidate to vote for by Benue people and not those that are just at the level of making promises,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader also urged the group to apply similar considerations in assessing candidates for the Benue governorship election.
