Ortom returns PDP governorship form

GOVERNOR Samuel Ortom of Benue State has returned his completed expression of interest and nomination form to contest for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s gubernatorial election.

The governor, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC), returned the forms to the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.

He was represented by Abrahams Kwaghngu, Senior Special Assistant (Special Duties), who told reporters that the Benue people had lined up behind the governor for his re-election bid because he had stood by them.

He said while other leaders were quiet about the herdsmen killings going on in their states to gain federal government’s favour, Ortom had been shouting about the situation in his state and had damned the consequences.

The governor’s aide pointed out that the PDP was also already united behind the governor who was recently handed the structure by party stakeholders in the state.

According to him, even though Ortom was helped to office by All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders led by former governor George Akume in 2015, the coming together of PDP leaders and the people in Benue state would ensure that Ortom will be re-elected in 2019.

He said: “For those of you who saw what happened in Benue on Monday, where all the major stakeholders in Benue state came together for two days in Makurdi to give their backing to the governor, two former Senate presidents were there Dr. Iyorchia Ayu and Chief David Mark; Barnabas Gemade was there, all the National Assembly members from Benue state were there, the state assembly members were there and major stakeholders in Benue did a meeting and stood behind the governor and gave the whole leadership of the party to the governor with their full support.

ALSO READ: Automatic ticket: PDP leadership, National Assembly aspirants’ meeting deadlocked

“It is not all about Akume, it is about the people of Benue state. Whoever has assisted the governor to win in 2015, we will appreciate him but he is not a God anyway.

“It is about the people and we are going to solicit vote from the people and the people of Benue state are willing to vote again for the governor because they are happy with what he is doing for them, at least providing security and standing by his people when they were being killed.

“This is one Governor that came out and spoke to the whole world and damned with the consequences that his people are being killed. Providing security for the people is paramount more than anything.

“If your people are being killed, and then you keep quiet and go and hide your faces somewhere, to get favours from powers that be, our governor said no to this, ‘let me stand with my people and the people are with him. So, the governor is going to the election with the people, we will not go with the Godfathers.”

The governor’s aide said his administration was up to date on salary payment even though there were arrears yet to be settled.

Apart from security, he also spoke of achievements of the administration in areas of education, health and agriculture but lamented that many of the projects lined up could not be completed because Fulani herdsmen had taken over the areas.