From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has assured that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has amicably resolved its internal crisis and is ready to win all its future elections.
Governor Ortom stated this on Wednesday at the Makurdi Airport after his return from Abuja where he attended an expanded stakeholders meeting as well as a meeting of PDP Governors Forum.
The Governor stated that the PDP is prepared to take Nigeria from bottom to top and not top to bottom like the APC promised Nigerians in 2015 and failed them thereafter.
“The PDP had resolved to remain focused in the face of intimidation and blackmail from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
“The PDP has learnt its lessons and is willing to serve as a beacon of hope for the country’s democracy and as a party that is people oriented with the capacity to provide a better alternative in governance.
The Governor added that the 13 Governors elected on the party’s platform will continue to remain united in promoting its interest above other considerations.
He opined that the APC has failed Nigerians on all fronts including economy, security and its mantra of anti-corruption fight, stressing that Nigerians have been abandoned to their fate by the ruling party.
Ortom disclosed that the meeting with other stakeholders of the PDP decided that the National Executive Committee of the party should call for an early convention slated for October 2021, saying all stakeholders endorsed the decision which is to be implemented according to the PDP constitution.
He said claims by the APC in Benue that it had registered five million members was nothing but a 419 move by the party and a rehearsal for rigging in future elections.
He stated that the claim was against the overwhelming majority of members of the PDP in Benue which won the governorship, three senatorial seats, seven House of Representatives seats among others in the 2019 general election.
Governor Ortom described the moves to amend the Electoral Act by the National Assembly as another fiasco aimed at denying Nigerians the right to have their votes count, insisting that a push for manual transmission of results was against the tenets of credible and transparent elections.