By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Mr. Orker Jev is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the FCT. In the just concluded National Assembly elections, he defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Benue State and incumbent senator representing Benue North-West in the Senate, Mr. George Akume, against all odds. In this interview, Jev speaks on how he achieved that feat.

You have been declared the winner of the Benue North-West senatorial race after defeating Mr George Akume. How do you react to the outcome of that election?

I’m overwhelmed and humbled but I’m not totally surprised. We presented ourselves before the people and the people took their decision. That is what democracy is all about. It is not about one David and one Goliath. I refuse those appellations. Everybody is equal before the people, that is democracy and the people have made their choice. I have always been behind my leader, the current senator, but when it came to the time for the people to take their decision I presented myself and they preferred me. So it is not about any victor or vanquished, it is about the people’s decision and that is the essence of democracy. So I appreciate it, I’m overwhelmed, I’m over humbled but I think it is about service. I’m going there to be of service to the people and my prayer is that God should give me the strength and fortitude to serve the people of Benue State.

What difference are you going to make in the Senate?

I don’t know about difference. I’m not going to the National Assembly for the first time. I have been there and I have made my humble inputs there and I think people can judge me not just by what I say but by what I have done there. The federal constituency that I represent presently has 99 percent rural setting. There is no town there in the actual sense of the word. Even the local government headquarters is a semi-urban environment. I’m coming to an environment where you have the two biggest towns in Benue, Makurdi and Gboko. So I’m expanding the scope, maybe I will expand my world view. If you open my web page on the National Assembly website, you will find that my legislative agenda is rural and youth development. But the terrain I’m going to, I will have to expand it. I went around during the campaigns and I never made promises but what I said was that let me understand the constituency I’m going to represent so that when I get there, I will know how to represent them well. I know fairly well about the needs of Benue North-West senatorial constituency, so that is what people should expect from me, good representation.

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What do you say motivated the people to vote for you instead of Akume because many people took your quest for granted and nobody believed you were going to floor him because the odds were actually against you?

First, you know that there is a high premium on zoning in our environment here. This senatorial seat was supposed to go to Buruku local government area and not just Buruku but my own side of Buruku.

But Senator Akume, who is from Tarka local government area, came and took a loan, as it is called, and, for 12 years, he has held on to that and he never made any effort to come to renew the loan as it were.

So the people felt insulted and they said “no, we are not going to give you, our son go for it”, and I went for it and presented myself before the people and the people preferred me.

What is your impression about the election generally?

On the day of the election, some journalists came to me and I told them that I had been involved in elections. In fact, this is the fifth election I’m winning and this is the most transparent election in terms of the preparation, in terms of what transpired on that day and in terms of the absence of violence that we noticed in the past. So I’m surprised that Senator Akume wrote a petition claiming that there was rigging and that there was violence and all of that. If he feels strongly about that, it will be unfortunate but he has an option but as far as I know, that election was transparent and we should all accept it.

Are there areas you feel that we should improve in the conduct of elections generally?

I think that what happened is that the postponement caused some apathy because the level of attendance that we noticed on the first day that was fixed was not the same that we noticed on the actual date of the election. So the preparations in the next elections should be such that if we are going to postpone any election, people should be given enough time to save cost, to save time and energy so that the people will not develop apathy as was the case in this exercise.

What massage do you have for your co-contestants especially the defeated senator?

He is somebody who has served our state for over 40 years. We extend all the courtesy and respect to Senator Akume as he eases out. My election is not about trying to humiliate anybody. I am just going there to serve the people. As I wait to collect the baton, I think I’ll give him all the courtesy that he deserves. He is my leader. I’m his boy. I have always been his boy. The fact that I’m going to take over from him doesn’t mean that we have become equals. I will always give him that courtesy.