Cephas Iorhemen reports on the intrigues behind the purported move by Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, to reconcile with his estranged political godfather, ex-Governor George Akume
Benue people are likely to witness another political drama as Governor Samuel Ortom is said to be planning to mend the broken political nexus between him and his estranged political godfather, ex-Governor George Akume. The move, sources close to the governor said is to enable him actualize his senatorial ambition after he would have served out his second term in 2023.
As a prelude to a ceremony to mark the reconciliation, Ortom and Akume, who have maintained a cat and dog relationship since his first term in office, recently demonstrated show of love at a stakeholders meeting organised for the 14 Tiv speaking local government areas at the government house to find ways of addressing intractable crises in the state ranging from communal to herdsmen attacks, banditry and kidnapping, among others.
Guests at the meeting were astonished to witness the presence of Akume, who is presently the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs as well as hear the two politicians speak glowingly about each other, with Akume especially commending the giant strides recorded by Ortom, especially in the area of security.
Ortom’s predecessor and incumbent senator representing Benue North East Senatorial District, Senator Gabriel Suswam, was also at the meeting. Benue State government house sources confided in New Telegraph that shortly after the stakeholders meeting, which lasted for hours, Ortom, Akume and Suswam among other top politicians moved to the governor’s residence “for another meeting.”
Like Ortom, Suswam is also alleged to be making a similar plan to dump PDP, but his media aide, Mr. Bede Bartholomew, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, dispelled the allegation.
His words: “Suswam is not leaving PDP for APC. Is he going to APC to do what; for Akume to insult him? There is no basis for Suswam to leave PDP.”
Despite the explanation, sources linked Suswam’s alleged plot to leave the PDP to his travails in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting Suswam and the Commissioner for Finance in his administration, Omadachi Okolobia, over money laundering charges to the tune of N3.1 billion. They are alleged to have conspired to launder money belonging to the state government through the engagement of Abubakar Umar, a bureau de change operator and owner of Fanffash Resources.
No doubt, Ortom and Akume were once political allies, but their relationship hit the rocks during Ortom’s first term in office over what he described as overbearing influence of Akume and the former governor’s insistence on controlling the APC structure in Benue State, a development Ortom said, made it difficult for him to pay workers’ salaries then.
Ortom had said that he inherited N69 billion arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuity, while the wage bill then was around N8.2 billion without teachers’ minimum wage.
The governor further said with the various interventions of the federal government and borrowings, he hoped to redeem the situation to a level, but it was not possible.
“Now paying a wage bill which is N8.2 billion including the additional responsibilities that came on our finances from the minimum wage of teachers which was close to N300 million became a challenge,” he said then.
The political marriage between Ortom and Akume reached a boiling point when the latter alleged that the governor diverted over N500 billion accrued to the state. He also apologised on behalf of Benue people for bringing Ortom to government, while accusing him of performing below expectation.
But Ortom, who swiftly fired back, told Akume to explain to the people of the state how he also diverted the state’s N2 billion, while he was governor of the state without approval by the then state House of Assembly.
Akume, according to the governor, used the money to pursue his personal ambition of becoming Senate president in 2007.
On Akume’s claim that he made him governor, Ortom said it was the Holy Spirit that made him governor and not the former governor.
From that moment, Ortom vowed not to join issues with Akume any longer as it was his considered decision that politics of elections were over and it was time for governance.
While the bickering is now history, political pundits said Ortom’s decision to mend fences with Akume now is to enable him effectively plot his graph and achieve his senatorial ambition.
The analysts are of the view that Akume may be the only saving grace for Ortom’s next political move given the fact that the incumbent Senator Emmanuel Yisa Orker Jev, is unlikely to vacate the Benue North West seat for the governor
Findings has it that the position (Benue North West) was earlier “loaned” to Akume by Buruku people, where Jev hails from, a situation that denied one of their own the opportunity. The unanimous resolve of Buruku people now is to massively throw their support to their son, Jev, to attract more dividends of democracy to them.
But close allies of Governor Ortom are of the view that he remains the most powerful candidate to beat for the position. Their argument is that in the senatorial district, it is only the Nongov, where the governor hails from that have not produced a senator.
Amidst the permutations and speculations, Governor Ortom, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, denied making such move.
He said: “That allegation is unfounded. Governor Samuel Ortom is not leaving PDP. He did not hold any meeting with anyone to discuss plans to join APC. No such meeting ever took place. The rumour is an imaginary concoction of mischief makers. Why will the governor leave PDP, where he is comfortably leading the party to achieve greater things and bringing development to Benue State? We advise members of the public to ignore the trash of a rumour.”
This is not the first time Governor Ortom will deny leaving one political party to the other. In 2017, while he was in APC with Akume as his leader, he cried loudly that the party gave him a “Red Card,” a development that forced him to dump the party for PDP.
While the feud between him and Akume lingered, journalists confronted him to clear the air on his rumoured plot to return to PDP, he denied that he had no plan to dump APC.
A statement issued by media aide then, read: “We read a report in a national daily which named Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom as one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders planning to defect to another political party.
“The report, which is obviously sponsored is not only false but also misleading. Governor Ortom has no intention to leave APC for another party and has not consulted anyone on the matter.”
The statement stressed that Ortom enjoys a cordial working relationship with other leaders of the party both at the local, state and national levels.
It added that the main focus of the governor was to deliver greater benefits of democracy to his people including tackling the security challenges confronting them. “There is no cause to warrant his defection to another party,” the statement stated.
But, speaking when he hosted the 276 elected councilors at the government house, Ortom explained that he arrived at the decision to dump APC after consulting widely with relevant stakeholders and the elected representatives of the people.
Ortom said: “I have consulted widely with our elders, our youths and all the elected representatives of the people of Benue State, including council chairmen and councilors.
“They have unanimously endorsed that my stay in the APC has expired and I should look for another platform and that they would all follow me.
“I recall that I had issues with the leader of the APC in Benue State and while the national leadership of the party was trying to resolve it, the party in the state embarked on aggressive campaign of calumny against me.
“It is on that note that I tender my resignation letter to my ward chairman of APC, who also promised to follow me wherever I want to go, while 10 of the 17 APC members of Benue State House of Assembly have also indicated that they are moving with me to any platform I choose.
“Let me, therefore, announce to you that I have formally decided to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from today”.
The governor added that he was moving to the PDP where he had a family and in a party he contributed to build.
No doubt, 2023 is three years ahead, but all eyes of the people of the state are on Governor Ortom to see his next political move; whether he will remain in the PDP or return to meet his estranged political godfather, Akume, to plot his way to the upper federal legislative chamber of the National Assembly.
As the people wait for the governor’s next move, the question on their lips is: Should Ortom leave PDP, will the party’s structure handed over to him by former presidents of the Senate, David Mark and Iyorchia Ayu; Suswam, Abba Moro, Orker Jev and other House of Representatives members in the state agree to move with him?
