A few days ago when a member of the House of Representative, Herman Hembe a third term legislator from Benue State under APC was sacked by the Supreme
A few days ago when a member of the House of Representative, Herman Hembe a third term legislator from Benue State under APC was sacked by the Supreme Court and also ordered to refund salaries and allowances collected within 90 days, he was immediately replaced by Dorothy Kpentomum Mato.
A former member of the state House of Assembly who represented Kyan Constituency between 2011 and 2015, Dorothy was once a fashion designer. Born on 16th September 1968, she had her primary education at R.C.M. Primary School, Chenge, in Vandeikya Local Government and shortly after proceeded to Lagos to obtain skilled education and training in fashion designing at the Nikky Africanna fashion Institute, Lagos in 1987.
Shortly after, she enrolled at Mbagba High School, Mbamngu for her secondary school education graduating in 2002. By 2006, she had studied and obtained a Diploma in Public Administration at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo. The quest for more knowledge took her to Fidei Polytechnic, Gboko for her Higher National Diploma programme from where she graduated with a Certificate in Business Administration in 2010.
She would later earn a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Mkar, Mkar. A former member of Action Congress, she began her political career in 2007 as the Deputy Chairman, Vandeikya Local Government Council and also supervisory councillor, revenue generation.
Her rising popularity endeared her to the incoming Suswam administration who elevated her to the position of Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs between, 2008-2010 and later as Women Coordinator for Suswam/Lawani Gubernatorial Campaign Organization in 2010.
She would eventually contest for a place at the Benue State House of Assembly election which she won by popular votes under the then ACN in 2011 and was the House Committee Chairman on Science and Technology as well as member, House Committee on Housing and Urban Development and that of MDGs and donor Agencies.
She once declared in a Facebook post in 2016 her idea about what politics should be: “I see politics as an instrument for social & structural change. Although the African perspective is that of a do-or-die procedure, it is pertinent to know that politics is all encompassing, it is about the use of a process for societal upliftment. I strongly encourage general participation in political processes, especially the youths and fellow women, for to alienate ourselves from the process will amount to negating our fundamental constitutional responsibilities.”
Outside of politics, Dorothy is a businesswoman, a community leader and mobiliser. She is presently the President, Tiv Women Traders Association, Gboko branch. She is also the President, De-compatible Sisters, a Women Mobilization, social/Cultural Club (current). She is reputed for her generous contribution to community development projects at local and state levels.
