Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in the face of injustice done to him and other PDP members, emphasizing that his relationship with the Rivers Governor has not been damaged.
He referred to the contradictory media reports as being dishonest and deceptive.
The Governor pledged that he would always be on the side of the Rivers State Governor because he would always stand on the side of truth and justice when he made the clarification on Tuesday, immediately after presiding over the Benue North-West Senatorial district PDP caucus meeting in Makurdi.
He said, “the news report that I disassociated from Governor Wike is misleading. I just came back from London this morning with Wike and I still maintain my stand on what I said. I have not moved away from there.
Read Also: “Ayu is very corrupt, he received N1bn in Lagos” –Wike reveals
“Ayu manipulated PDP presidential primaries” – Wike reveals
“I still sympathize with Wike for the injustices meted out to him and our group.”
The Governor further stated that “the party leadership has not been fair to Governor Wike based on the activities that took place during the convention and after the convention.
“They have not been able to adequately deploy the internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to resolve those issues.
“I still sympathize and stand with Wike and let the leadership of the party at the national level do the right thing. It is not too late to do so.
“Politics is about interest, and where your interest is not protected, you have the right to protest. We remain committed to the PDP but still want the right thing to be done so that everybody will be carried along.”
The Governor told the Board of Trustees that he hoped the lingering difficulties would be resolved as a result of their initiative, “on the issue in contention about the National Chairman, the BoT, was here some few days ago and we deliberated on the matter. They sought to know what my feeling was about the crisis and I told them the truth as far as I am concerned.
“I gave them my recommendations and I hope that justice will be done so that our party will gain its position to take over power in 2023.”
He maintained that despite the issues at the national level, “Benue State does not have any problem, from bottom to top, we are good to go. As far as our party is concerned. I am working for our candidates.”
Governor Ortom emphasized that he will support all candidates and not work against the PDP, “that does not mean I am not aggrieved, Wike is aggrieved and I am aggrieved too.”
A Benue North-West Senatorial campaign team for the Senate seat will be formed following appropriate consultations, according to Governor Ortom. It would be merged into the main campaign council of PDP in the state.
