By Amos Aar
THE CHIEF Medical Director, Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, Dr Stephen Hwande, who is jostling for the senatorial seat of Benue North West otherwise known as Benue zone B on Friday boasted that he will unseat senator Titus Zam who currently occupies the seat, come 2027 general elections.
Fielding questions from journalists at the BSUTH on the sidelines of the flag-off ceremony of the world breastfeeding week 2025 on whether he will be able to sack the incumbent, Hwande said, “Zam is a small thing”.
He continued: “Benue will be fifty years next year February. Now, compare Benue with Ogun. Ogun too will be 50 years. Now, if you rate Benue among South-South, South-west, South-west states, which state is Benue ahead of? Those ones alone are 17. When you come to middle bet, is Benue ahead of Plateau? What of Kwara and Nasarawa? When you go to North, are we ahead of Kaduna? Or Kano? Benue will be ranked around 27, 28. Why? Leadership structure, leadership recruitment.
“So, when you have people who are not prepared for position…, we have people in the national Assembly who don’t know their duties. They think their duty is to come and check the governor. Is it the duty of the National Assembly to come and check the governor? If we have National Assembly members that are serious, will IDPs be protesting? So, it’s failure of representation. When people fail exams, they leave the system. So, they will leave the system and we will replace them. Have I failed at the teaching hospital? If I fail, would I talk about it? When you do more work, more work is given to you. So, the people of Benue will decide”.
Asked under which party he is contesting, Hwande who earlier stated that the decision lies with masses however replied: “I’m an appointee, and if I am an appointee of the governor, I’m working with the governor. If I convince him to give me the ticket and he gives me the ticket, the election compared to the performance of those people, I tell you, it’s a walkover”.
Asked again to mention his party, Hwande repeated emphatically: “ah! ah! I’m with the governor. So, which platform are you asking? I’m with the governor. I’m not talking party. I’m with Governor Hyacinth Iormen Alia and I’m going to work with Governor Alia. Anyway, where you see Governor Alia, Hwande is there.
“This is a simple truth. Where is Zam’s investment? But me, I have investment. I brought IVF to Benue State. I would have been in Abuja. I brought the same IVF to Teaching Hospital. So, it’s about productivity. Forget about those people”.
Reminded by journalists that he has not completed his assignment as the CMD and he may be distracted by his Senatorial bid, Hwande argued, saying “no, I have completed my assignment. I will finish the work. See, the area where you keep your very best at work, they expect what you have. People are sending their very best. You are sending jokers. So, what do you expect? IDPs will protest because they will not have food, they will not have health care. But if you have solid representation, even our people at the National Assembly alone will bring trucks of rice, they will bring trucks of medicine. Why our people protest is that they don’t have representatives. Everything is on the governor. They sent you to Abuja to go and bring things and help the governor. Then, you turn to his foe, you turn to his enemy. Then, you have failed in your constitutional responsibility and the Benue people will take their decision”.
