…As party leaders meet, charge members on unity
From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom has debunked rumours that he is planning to decamp to the All Progressives Congress, (APC), insisting he is in the People Democratic Party, (PDP) to stay.
Ortom stated this during an expanded EXCO meeting of the PDP which held at the party secretariat in Makurdi on Monday.
Chief Ortom said rumours that he is decamping to the APC was a lie from the pit of hell as he is committed to the party and is not going anywhere.
“The rumours that I’m decamping is not true. In fact, no one from the APC has approached me and I am not a busy body to be moving from one place to another. I am not going anywhere. This one that they are calling me leader of the party, evwn with lots of responsibilities, I will not leave it for nobody. If you think I’m sitting on your position, go and wait for your turn,” Ortom said.
He emphasized the need for the PDP to be united to overcome the defeat of 2023. “There is no need to apportion blames. The elections have come and gone. We may have lost but we will not remain there. We will rise up from the failure of 2023, draw a line and forge ahead.
“PDP is the only party that is strong and receptive to the yearnings of the people. With our new commitment, we will make the party more vibrant for tomorrow. Let us work hard and strategize and we shall succeed in future election,” he said.
Also speaking, the former Governor of the state and immediate past Senator representing Benue North East, Sen. Gabriel Suswam, said “we have suffered defeat, we have made mistakes, lost elections and we have learnt from it.
“Let us not dwell on the failures. The PDP is a winning party and I believe we have come together to reflect on what happened. By God’s grace, we have three leaders who are willing to provide logistics for the party. If we must continue to move the party forward, support us, we must be united to succeed.”
Suswam warned those who want to cause friction and divide the party to go elsewhere as they, leaders, have agreed to work together to ensure the party bounces back and recovers its pride of place which is the Government House.
Senate Minority leader and Senator representing Benue South, Sen. Abba Moro, lauded the support the Benue people are giving to the PDP.
Moro who stated that APC in the state is mismanaging power urged members to remain steadfast as the good old days are coming back.
“Let’s take the party back to the people. Let the people choose their own servant leaders. Those waiting for me, Suswam and Ortom to quarrel will wait for long because we are not quarrelling now or in the future.
“We in the PDP are used to being the landlords. Let us work hard and return the party to it’s rightful place,” he said.
State party Chairman, Sir John Ngbede, warned against rumour mongering to cause disunity in the party and called on those behind it to stop henceforth.
He assured that as the party goes into local government Congresses, there would be no manipulation of any kind as they would play according to the rules.
Other party leaders, Laha Dzever from Zone B, Hassan Saleh of Zonce C, Mrs. Margaret Icheen a national official, among others commended the leaders of the party in the state and urged them to remain united to reposition the party for victory.