Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, had blasted the All Progressives Congress in the state for referring to him as Nyesom Wike’s errand boy.
Recall that Austin Agada, the Chairman of the APC in Benue State, had claimed that Ortom had resigned from his position as governor of Benue “to do errands” for his Rivers State counterpart.
In response to the remark, Ortom attacked the APC leader, claiming that he runs the party like a guy in charge of a gang of thugs, according to a statement released on Sunday by Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, Terver Akase.
The young man who leads the APC in Benue like he’s in charge of some thugs, according to the statement, has insulted the governor of his state before.
“A party chairman who was beaten to a pulp in his town of Otukpa by enraged APC members protesting the rigged governorship primary election he held in May of this year has the moral standing to criticize anybody else’s leadership skills.
“Agada and others who write and speak on behalf of the APC in Benue State appear to be too young to be aware that Senator George Akume, the party’s leader and former governor of Benue State from 1999 to 2007, was good friends with Dr. Peter Odili, who was the governor of Rivers State at the time.
The APC state chairman is also unaware of the long-standing friendship that existed between the governors of Rivers State Melford Okilo and Benue State Aper Aku during the second republic. Agada is unaware that friendly relationships between state governors are engines for progress.
“Governor Ortom and Governor Wike’s relationship is based on mutual respect, advancement, and the mutual benefit of the two states.
In the same manner that Governor Wike asks him to return the favour in his state, the Governor has on several occasions called his counterpart from Rivers and several other Governors to commission several projects in Benue State.
“Last year, Governor Wike, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State received chieftaincy titles from His Royal Majesty, Professor James Ayatse, at the commissioning of the ultra-modern Tor Tiv Palace built by the Ortom administration in Gboko, the Tor Tiv.
On the same occasion, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was also given a chieftaincy title.
The commissioning of four important roads that Governor Ortom built-in Gboko came before the celebration.
“Only last month, at the request of their host and fellow G-5 member, Governor Samuel Ortom, the G-5 Governors—Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Ifeanyi Ugwanyi of Enugu, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo—met in Makurdi to commission a variety of projects.
The Tse Poor-Apir road, now known as the Ayua Num road, the Yaikyo-Tse Poor road, now known as the Sule Abenga road, and the road connecting George Akume Road to NKST Yina, now known as the Senator JKN Waku road, were prominent among the projects that were commissioned.
The Kaanga-Akaya-Lucy Aluor road, which is now titled the Nyesom Wike road, and the Low-Cost Housing Estate-Bambam road, which is now named after a seasoned politician in the state, Chief JC Obande, were two more improvements that were ordered by the visiting Governors.
The 14-kilometre Tse-Poor-Mbanima project was one of the electricity projects that were officially launched on that day.
“Governor Ortom’s aforementioned development efforts in no way suggest that he has abandoned government.
However, we are aware that the APC leadership in Benue State is making foolish attempts to cast aspersions on all of the Ortom administration’s actions.
“Governor Ortom received one of Rivers State’s greatest honours only yesterday in Port Harcourt from that state’s administration and populace.
It’s interesting to note that the APC in Benue State has not commented on the fact that certain governors who support the party’s agenda, including Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, were among the receivers.
“If that amounted to Governor Wike’s “running an errand,” Governor Ortom was not the only one on the “journey.”
The goalposts are constantly being moved during the game by the chairman of the Benue APC and his crew of slacker officials.
Their story up to this point was that the governor had not made any achievements known.
“Due to the frequent project commissioning, their songfest has descended to the abhorrent level of disparaging the Governor in a way appropriate for street urchins.
“Since taking control of the party, the Agada-led state working committee of the APC has failed to complete any assignment.
They manage the gathering in a shady way.
The only known accomplishments of the inexperienced APC leadership in Benue were extorting significant sums of money from candidates before the party primaries and the reported embezzlement of funds intended for delegates to the party’s national convention in Abuja. These actions ranged from spewing insults at significant party stakeholders to crass ineptitude accompanied by arrogance and rascality.
“Their refusal to hold free and fair primaries resulted in several lawsuits being filed against the party, as well as a large exodus of party members to the PDP and other political parties around the state.
“Governor Ortom is still dedicated to and focused on his mission to serve the Benue people. Any number of smear tactics launched by the opposition won’t divert the governor.
