Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has dumped the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), on whose wings he rode to power. The governor disclose
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has dumped the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), on whose wings he rode to power. The governor disclosed this earlier in the week at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital. Explaining the reasons behind his action, the governor said he has been sent out of APC and is currently exploring a new option to actualise his future ambition. He has however not announced the party he will be joining, saying only that he is consulting with relevant stakeholders and will soon announce his next move.
“As for party, I have been given a red card and I’m outside the pitch. So, if I have been given a red card and I’m standing outside, I’m a free man. I don’t know what will happen next; but I’m waiting. If approached, then I will tell the Benue people that I’m joining another football club,” he said.
Meanwhile, Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), refuted Samuel Ortom’s claims that he was pushed out of the party.
“I know that Ortom is a prominent member of the party. He has said repeatedly to me one on one that he will not leave the APC unless he was pushed out. I have since assumed the chairmanship of this party along with my brothers and sisters in the national working committee and I know that we have not shut out any governor, certainly not Ortom.”
In the same vein, Muyideen Akorede, spokesman of Abdulfatah Ahmed, governor of Kwara state, says his principal is being shown the way out of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Akorede said this in reaction to reports that Ahmed, Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state, Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, and Senate President Bukola Saraki met with Peoples Democratic Party leaders on Wednesday. But Akorede said the gathering was not political, adding that Ahmed is yet to take a decision on staying or leaving APC.
Governor Ahmed
It remains to be seen if Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State will also dump the ruling party.