After holding sway at the Government House, Makurdi, life has not been the same for the immediate past governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, no thanks to his travails on many fronts.
Shortly after relinquishing office in May 2015, he was said to have relocated with his family to London, and at some point, to the United States. Suswam was, however, compelled to return to his Abuja home months thereafter to respond to allegations of fraud when the new APC administration in the state established a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe his eight year-tenure, between 2007 and 2015.
Shortly after relinquishing office in May 2015, he was said to have relocated with his family to London, and at some point, to the United States. Suswam was, however, compelled to return to his Abuja home months thereafter to respond to allegations of fraud when the new APC administration in the state established a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe his eight year-tenure, between 2007 and 2015.
The former governor, who earlier lost his bid to secure a seat in the Senate to Engr. Barnabas Gemade, fought back relentlessly to save his name, but before long, the commission, headed by Justice Elizabeth Kpojime, made recommendations that indicted him, among 52 individuals and 10 corporate bodies.
While the probe lasted at the state level, Suswam was also made to face the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on various charges, which are still pending cases bothering on his tenure as the governor of the acclaimed food basket state.
The incessant blames heaped on his administration at every slight opportunity by the officials of the Ortom government for bequeathing a myriad of socio-economic woes, and their inability to pay salaries of workers, often propelled Suswam out of his shell to clear the air on issues.
Despite all these battles, Suswam is still believed to be living luxuriously and spending heavily to keep his caucus intact, while his known business outfit in Makurdi, the Benue Metropolitan Hotel, is presumed to be doing well against all odds.
An aide of the former governor disclosed that he is currently attending to health concerns abroad, but would soon begin to re-strategise ahead of his party’s (PDP) national convention, expected to hold soon.
Considered by many as a big political player in the affairs of the PDP in the Food Basket state, Suswam also appears to be dictating the pace for the party’s coming congresses at two senatorial districts of Benue North-East and North-West even though elders in those areas are said to be kicking against his sole move.
Ordinarily, political opponents had expected him to live a solitary life, but he seems to be in the limelight whenever he shows up during major socio-cultural activities in the state, such as the funeral ceremonies of the late Tor Tiv, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, that of his grandmother, Mama Caroline Nguyemen Tyo Tor Najime and his assassinated political godfather, Chief Atoza Ihinda.
An aide of the governor also said that as a family man, Suswan stays around his family, even as he engages in farming rice and growing food crops in his farms in Makurdi and Anyiin.
“Having been in politics for 16 unbroken years, Suswam is taking his time to re-launch his next political move. As a leader of his party, this will be made known at the appropriate time,” said the aide, who wishes to remain anonymous.
COMMENTS