BENUE State Governor, Samuel Ortom, says he would have joined some of his counterparts from other states in calling for the resignation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, if they were not from the same state, Benue.
Governor Ortom who hit the nail on the head Friday while fielding questions from journalists before the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) meeting, said Dr Ayu promised the whole world that he would resign as PDP National Chairman if a northerner clinched presidential ticket of the party for the 2023 election but he is refusing to fulfil the promise.
For over a month now, Governor Ortom had rather than directly asking Dr Ayu to resign instead expressed support for his colleague Governor Nyeson Wike of River State who has been insisting that Ayu should resign.
Asked at the press briefing what was his position on the calls for Ayu’s resignation, Ortom said: “When a child defecates on your lap, you do not cut off the leg, you clean it up or wash it off and move on. The issue is that the PDP leadership has failed. But for me, I have not called for the removal of the National Chairman because he comes from where I come from. But I have said that the leadership including the National Chairman have failed in solving the problem and I have advised them adequately.
“When members of the Board of Trustees came to me, I told them what they needed to do and I also told the National Chairman what he needed to do. I cannot go to the extreme level of calling for his removal but I call on him to do the right thing, to do the needful which has not been done, which is wrong.
“That is why I keep saying that the party has not been able to deploy its internal conflict resolution mechanism to solve this problem. If they do it, we can all flow and work together, but sidelining people and thinking that you are there and nothing can stop you, is what is creating problems.
“So, for me, there is still time, the party can work it out. I am in the G‐5 but because the Chairman is from my state, I decided to keep quiet, I have advised him on what to do. He should be happy that I am in the G-5 which Governor Wike is the leader. He should be happy that I get information from there and give it to him.
“If he takes my advice, fine, but if he doesn’t, that’s fine too; the right thing has to be done to give all comfort because whatever is the demand of Wike today nobody can blame him. The Chairman himself promised that he would resign if a Northern presidential candidate emerged; has a northern candidate not emerged?
“So why is he not coming out? And I have offered two things, it’s either you resign or plead and beg the people why you should continue as National Chairman because you said it yourself, nobody compelled you.
“The National Chairman told the whole world that he would resign if a northern candidate emerged and today a northern candidate has emerged. So, the question I am asking is where is your integrity if you don’t resign?
“But there are many ways of doing it, if you plead, if you beg, if you seek for the understanding of the people to accept you the way you are so that we run towards election, it is still okay. But the onus is on you to convince them and not to say that you have a four-year tenure. Who compelled you to say that you will resign if the presidential candidate comes from the North? I chose to keep quiet but that does not mean I am against what my colleagues are saying.”
Ortom’s indecision due to senatorial ambition – source
Although Ortom attributed his indecision on Ayu’s resignation to merely hailing from the same state with him, a source close to the governor told National Record on Friday that Ortom is worried about his senatorial ambition should Ayu, who is from Jemgbagh extraction of Benue Zone B, where block votes come from, be forced to resign.
According to the source, Governor Ortom spared no resources at his disposal to support Ayu to emerge PDP National Chairman, a gesture meant to settle Jemgbagh so that they will not compete with him for 2023 Senate. But the aim may be defeated if Ayu quits the position hence Ortom’s indecision.
History is about to repeat itself in Benue State. Recall that in 2001, the then governor of Benue State, George Akume, allegedly joined forces with Political heavyweights from other states and ousted Chief Barnabas Gemade, a Tiv man from Konshisha local government area of Benue State, as PDP national Chairman. Today, it’s Ortom versus Ayu and the battle is toughening every day.
