The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter in Benue State has rejected and condemned moves by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to discipline Governor Samuel Ortom.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that, while the PDP National Working Committee referred Ortom to the party’s disciplinary committee for alleged anti-party activities, the party suspended former governors Ayodele Fayose, Ibrahim Shema, and former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim.
Remember that Ortom, along with other governors, refused to support the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Instead, the Benue Governor openly backed Labour Party candidate Peter Obi.
However, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, the Benue PDP expressed confidence in Governor Ortom.
While urging the party’s national leadership to reverse its decision, the PDP questioned why the NWC would single out Ortom among the G-5 governors for disciplinary action.
Following the party’s losses in the general elections, the state chapter urged the opposition party to focus on the reconciliation of disgruntled members.
It said;
The party feels strongly that in fulfilling its duty as a state chapter, it must remind the NWC of the implications of its current action against Governor Ortom and others.
Firstly, the action runs in contempt of a subsisting court injunction restraining the PDP at all levels from taking any punitive action against the Benue State Governor pending the determination of a substantive suit, which is pending before a court of competent jurisdiction on the matter.
Secondly, going by the mood within PDP ranks in Benue, it is the expectation that the emphasis now will be on mending bonds of unity and internal cohesion which were badly damaged in the build-up to and during the 2023 elections leading to the huge losses recorded by the party at the polls against an evidently weaker opposition.
Never in the entire history of PDP has the party fared so badly at an election in Benue State as witnessed in 2023 ironically at a time its National Chairman is from the state.
The PDP in Benue sees this latest action of the NWC against Governor Ortom as ill-timed, considering that evidence on ground points rather to the governor’s steadfastness in loyalty and love for PDP since his rejoining the party in 2018.”
It is therefore, a motion of the Benue PDP SWC that a vote of confidence be passed in Governor Samuel Ortom for his steadfast loyalty and selfless, sacrificial leadership to our great party, PDP.
We equally call on the NWC to explore exhaustively options towards fostering reconciliation, unity, rebranding and repositioning of the party to recover its lost glory, the PDP added.
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