•••Says G-5 Govs Have not Endorsed Atiku
Attah Ede Makurdi
The Special Adviser to Benue State Governor on Media and Publicity, Terver AKASE, has said that his boss, Gov Samuel Ortom, and his colleagues in the G-5 have not resolved to work for the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to win the 2023 election.
He was responding to an online report credited to Governor Ortom, claiming that the G-5 have agreed to work for the victory of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the forthcoming general elections.
The Media Aide described the said report as ‘not only false but also mischievous as it is targeted at embarrassing the five Governors who have chosen the path of justice, fairness and equity’ in a statement in Makurdi on Tuesday.
The statement read in parts: “We read a fictitious online report which claimed that the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 have resolved to work for the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to win the 2023 election.
“Manufacturers of the said report were apparently on a desperate mission to score a cheap political point. The report could not mention the place and date of the said meeting of G-5 Governors.
“The writers only sought to take advantage of the crisis within the PDP for their selfish purposes. Governor Ortom and other members of the G-5 have not endorsed the said presidential candidate.
“When the Governor met with the expanded state caucus of PDP yesterday January 9, 2023 at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, his message to them was crystal clear that the national leadership of PDP has failed to utilize its internal conflict resolution mechanism which has led to the crisis rocking the party.
“The Governor said during the meeting that if the crisis is not resolved before the elections, he would be left with no other option than to take a stand on the matter. He added however that he wouldn’t impose his decision on members of the party in the state.
“Stakeholders present at the meeting commended the Governor for his patriotic disposition and pledged to line up behind him”.
Akase explained that those who spoke on behalf of zones A, B and C, as well as for women and youths, all said Governor Ortom has shown the character of a dependable leader who puts the interest of his people first.
According to him, the stakeholders pledged to find ways of resolving the internal crisis rocking the party while assuring the Governor that they would continue to stand with him through thick and thin.
He stressed that Governor Ortom did not address the press after the meeting, insisting that the online report is therefore fake and should be disregarded.
