By Amos Aar
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State has assured workers in the state including appointees of Governor Samuel Ortom, civil servants and traditional rulers, that the party will reinstate anybody sacked by the governor for supporting APC’s gubernatorial candidate, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, and other candidates vying for House of Assembly seats.
APC state chairman, Comrade Austine Agada, made this pronouncement Wednesday while addressing a press conference on behalf of his party in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
He alleged that in the last few days since the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, 2023, Governor Ortom has been making inflammatory statements capable of causing violence at the Governorship and State Assembly polls coming up this Saturday, March 18, 2023.
“Ortom has been making seamless statements, accusations and threats against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, the electorate and the traditional rulers.
“It’s unfortunate that he has sent emissaries through the local government Chairmen, that any traditional ruler that does not work for or support the PDP, he is going to remove that person from seat. He has also threatened civil servants, Permanent Secretaries and others,” Agada alleged, adding that Ortom has threatened violence to prevent the masses from going out on election day to vote for candidates of their choice on March 18, 2023 which according to the APC Chairman contravenes sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Electoral Act.
Agada assured the Benue electorate that the APC was fully prepared to protect their votes and their lives during and after the forthcoming elections on Saturday.
“I want to assure you that we are working 24 hours to ensure that your mandate is not stolen.
“Ortom is left with one month and two weeks to pack his loads and leave. I’m assuring every Benue person that any person who will be victimized in the course of this election, my assurance as a party is that the party will restore back your position whether traditional rulers, whether civil servants or whoever that is victimized as a result of their resolve to stand by the Benue people”, he assured.
Comrade Agada also accused Governor Ortom of denying civil servants and pensioners their rightful entitlements which he is allegedly using for vote buying. According to him, Ortom has been dishing out huge sums of money to people at Government House, Makurdi throughout the 2023 general elections period.
“Instead of the so-called money that Ortom said was not available to pay teachers’ salaries, pensions and all that, look at the amount of money he is dishing out. I’m sure you are following what is going on in Government House, the series of meetings, the money he has sent through the local government Chairmen and all that. He had that kind of money but he allowed Benue people to suffer! Many have died! Ordinary civil servants and pensioners in the state today believe that they are living corpse by virtue of Ortom’s actions on them”, he lamented.
