Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and senatorial aspirant for Benue North East (Zone A) under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Douglas Pepe, has called on the people of the zone to remain united in order to overcome the numerous challenges confronting them.
Pepe made the call on Friday in Makurdi when members of the Kwande Journalists Forum (KJF), led by its Chairman, Mr. Henry Ibya, paid him a solidarity visit.
The legal luminary emphasized that unity remains the strongest weapon for progress and development, noting that disunity has over the years hindered the zone from realizing its full potential.
“We can surmount all these problems only if we are united,” he said. “Politicians have over time taken advantage of our divisions, pitching one bloc against another to achieve their selfish aims.”
He identified key challenges facing the area as underdevelopment, lack of federal presence, insecurity, and poor economic empowerment, stressing that these issues can only be addressed through collective action.
Pepe further explained that the three major blocs in Zone A — Jechira, Kwande, and Sankera — must work together to ensure the zone’s political and economic revival.
He accused some politicians of sustaining divisions among the blocs to advance personal interests, describing it as a “divide and rule” strategy that has long kept the region politically fragmented.
“But there is now a growing political awareness in Zone A,” Pepe noted. “Even the people on the streets are beginning to understand the antics of these politicians.”
He commended the people for the renewed spirit of unity recently witnessed across the senatorial district and urged them to allow this unity to reflect in their political decisions ahead of the next elections.
“My advice to the people of Zone A is to remain steadfast, united, and focused on their collective progress,” he concluded.
