The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has recanted his earlier declaration suggesting that he has left the All Progressives Congress. He said he
The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has recanted his earlier declaration suggesting that he has left the All Progressives Congress. He said he is still a member of the APC and was impressed with the intervention of the national leadership of the party. The governor said he was prepared to give the party the benefit of the doubt. Ortom had earlier announced his decision to leave the party which he compared to a football pitch at a public function held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Monday.
Ortom however announced a reversal of his decision after Thursday’s meeting. According to him, it was the Benue State chapter of the APC that gave him “a red card” but that the national leadership had nullified it because the national level is superior to that of any individual or group of people and I think that is good enough, according to him.
“They have spoken to him (Senator George Akume); they have spoken to me and the state stakeholders are going to be spoken to and that’s where I belong. We have not concluded the matter, it’s an ongoing process. I always stand for peace, and I always want peace to prevail, that’s what I call for. I appreciate the intervention of the party’s leadership and I hope that we will be able to resolve the matter of differences. I am here in the APC. I am a member of the APC, I am still flying the flag of the APC, I only said I was given a red card but I have been corrected by the national secretariat.”
The APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole admitted that there could be legitimate basis for disagreements in some state chapters of the party, which his administration was determined to look into in order to resolve them. He explained that the issues in the Benue chapter of the party were not intractable to an extent that a solution could not be found.
The Benue APC, in a statement by its Director of Publicity, Peterhot Apeh, stated that the endorsement of the governor and leader of the party was meant to further unite the party in the state and provide a stable political atmosphere for the governor and Akume.
Apeh explained that, in return for the endorsement, the APC in the state demanded from the governor on behalf of the people, improved welfare and good governance.
