The 2027 Benue South Senatorial candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Daniel Onjeh, has urged his supporters not to insult or attack his political opponents in his name. Speaking ahead of the election, Onjeh said political disagreements should not be allowed to destroy relationships among the people of the district.
Onjeh noted that he had previously contested the Benue South Senate seat against former Senate President David Mark and the incumbent senator, Abba Moro, yet maintained cordial relationships with both men after the elections. He made the remarks while reflecting on photographs showing him seated with Mark and Moro after challenging them at the polls.
“I contested against Senator David Mark. Afterwards, we could still sit together. I contested against Senator Abba Moro. Afterwards, we could still sit together,” he said. According to him, the fact that he visited both politicians after challenging them politically demonstrated the kind of politics he wants younger people in Benue South to embrace.
“As we approach another Benue South Senatorial election, and before we commence our campaign in the coming days, I want to say this particularly to those who believe in me: nobody should insult any of my opponents because of me. Nobody,” Onjeh stated. He urged his supporters to focus their campaigns on issues, records and ideas rather than personal attacks.
“If you believe in me, my principles and what I stand for, let your campaign be issue-based. Talk about the issues. Talk about my record. Talk about my ideas and what I propose to do differently,” he said. Onjeh also appealed to his supporters not to respond to insults from opponents’ supporters with counter-insults, adding that they do not need to fight his battles by insulting anyone.
He recalled that during the 2016 Benue South rerun election, a supporter of his opponent insulted his late mother, but he deliberately chose not to retaliate. He also referenced an incident in which he was falsely accused on social media of being HIV-positive, saying he responded by clearing his name with evidence rather than engaging in a war of words. These experiences, he said, reinforced his belief that political disagreements should not descend into hatred or vindictiveness.
Reflecting on his 2023 senatorial election dispute with Moro, which progressed from the Election Petition Tribunal to the Court of Appeal, Onjeh said Moro had at one point reached out to explore an out-of-court settlement. He declined, explaining that the case was no longer about him personally but about the trust placed in him by his supporters. “I told him I would rather lose the case in court than sit at a table and compromise what I believed in,” he said. Despite the eventual judgment going against him, he continued to respect Moro and subsequently visited him.
“I did not compromise my position when the case was before the court, but neither did I turn our political disagreement into personal enmity afterwards,” Onjeh added. He said the same principle applied to his contest against Mark during the 2016 Benue South rerun, which he also challenged through the legal process.
Onjeh urged young people in Benue South to learn from previous generations without inheriting their divisions. “Our generation must learn from the past without inheriting its divisions,” he said. He added that elections should provide voters with competing ideas and records from which they can make informed choices, rather than become occasions for hatred and personal attacks.
“Elections will come and go. Political platforms may change. Offices will change hands. But we will remain sons and daughters of the same Benue South,” Onjeh said. He called on his supporters to defend the ideas they believe in, discuss the issues and make their arguments firmly, intelligently and with facts, while avoiding insults against political opponents.
