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Yesterday at the reception organised in honour of the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, George Akume in Abuja, the Minister and the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC in Benue State, Emmanuel Jime made Governor Samuel Ortom the target of all manner of verbal attacks.
Senator Akume declared again that he singlehandedly determined who became Governor of the state in 2015, and castigated Governor Ortom for always claiming that God made him Governor.
“I made Ortom Governor not the Holy Spirit”, Akume boasted at the reception.
It was not the first time that Senator Akume would make such a blasphemous statement. He had made a similar claim during the valedictory session of the 8th Senate.
In a speech that lasted for about 40 minutes at the reception yesterday, the Minister failed to tell his audience what benefits his new position would bring to his people. He instead hurled bile at Governor Ortom whom he also accused of diverting public funds to enrich himself.
Jime on the other hand heaped unprintable insults on the Governor, calling him an uneducated man and alleged that the 2019 governorship election was rigged.
We find utterances of the Benue APC leader and its governorship candidate quite unfortunate.
On Jime’s claim of a stolen mandate, we advise the APC flagbearer to use the ongoing sitting of the governorship election tribunal to state his case.
For a man who aspired to lead the state, Jime’s attacks on the person of the Governor are not only unfortunate but also smack of desperation and lack of respect for the same office he sought to occupy. Benue people know that APC attempted to manipulate the 2019 election in the state but could not match the overwhelming resolve of majority of the voters who said that Governor Ortom must return for a second term.
The Benue APC governorship candidate and his aides were caught with huge sums of money on the election day and some of the party’s supporters were arrested in Ado local government area over electoral offences. It is therefore senseless for the party’s leaders to accuse Peoples Democratic Party, PDP of rigging.
The antics of APC leadership in Benue State are obviously targeted at sustaining their support base with rethorics and claims of a mandate that was neither given them nor stolen.
Governor Ortom has chosen not to join issues with Senator Akume any longer. It is the considered decision of the Governor that politics is over and now it is time for governance.
What Benue people expect at this time is that irrespective of party differences, leaders of the state should pull together ideas and resources to drive development.
Senator Akume is now a Minister of the Federal Republic and Governor Ortom has already expressed his willingness to collaborate with the Minister to fast-track development for the benefit of Benue people.
It must be emphasized that Governor Ortom firmly believes in the Holy Spirit. As he has always stated, God made him Governor through Benue people to whom he remains grateful. It is the same Holy Spirit which has been helping the Governor to rise to positions of leadership and trust that is still sustaining and will continue to keep him as Governor.
Terver Akase
Chief Press Secretary
August 22, 2019.
