Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has refuted reports that he has broken away from the camp of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in the agitation for change leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Benue Governor declared that he still sympathise and stand with Wike, arguing that the PDP leadership did injustice to him at the national convention and after the convention.
Ortom while responding to the accusation of a faceless association in Benue State, had dismissed reports that he is pushing for the ousting of Iyorchia Ayu, his kinsman, as PDP national Chairman, was reported to have broken away from Wike, perhaps, to save his kinsman.
The Benue governor repudiating the blackmail by political jobbers from the state hovering around Abuja, had in a statement on Monday noted that he worked for Ayu to become PDP national chairman, questioning why he would be working for his removal for a southern national chairman. The statement elicited contradictory report of the Benue governor falling apart with the Rivers governor in the agitations in the PDP for return of the national chairman to the south after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the north picked the PDP presidential ticket. The resignation of the former Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Walid Jibrin, and the emergence of former Senate President Adolphus Wabara as the BoT chairman did not pacify Wike and his allies, who insist Ayu must go.
Meanwhile, Governor Ortom in a statement on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, declared: “There is no breaking away from our group. I still sympathize with Wike for the injustices meted out on him and our group.
“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.
“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. So, 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.”