Fred Itua, Abuja
A former military administrator of defunct Bendel State (now Edo and Delta), Jeremiah Useni, has formally expressed interest to join the 2019 gubernatorial race in Plateau State.
Useni currently represents Plateau South Senatorial District in the 8th Senate and he is one of the oldest serving lawmakers.
According to a formal letter addressed to Timothy Golu, a member of the House of Representatives also from Plateau State, Useni claimed that “his people across Plateau have endorsed him.”
In the letter, a copy of which has been seen by Daily Sun, Useni wrote: “I write to intimate you of my noble intention to present myself for the service of our dear state by seeking the gubernatorial ticket under the platform of PDP.
“My decision to contest is based on calls from various political and other interest groups across the state urging me to contest the poll.
“It is in the light of above, that I wish to kindly request for your support and prayers in actualising this ambition.”
Useni intends to contest on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The current governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalung, is 54 years old. He is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
If Useni secures the ticket of his party and eventually wins the gubernatorial race, he will become the oldest governor in Nigeria’s history.
Maybe the former governor of Bendel state plans to offer to the people of Plateau, something ‘juicier’ than what Simon Lalong, the incumbent — aged 54 — is serving them.
Useni served as governor of defunct Bendel State in 1984, when President Muhammadu Buhari held sway as military head of state.
The septuagenarian was appointed minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 1994 by Ibrahim Babangida and was in the position till 1998 under Sani Abacha, until Abdusalami Abubakar took over briefly.