Oshiomhole reveals shocking allegations against Gov. Ortom
Oshiomhole hinted that the APC would have lost the 2019 governorship election in Benue state if Ortom contested on the platform because he (Ortom) has not completed a single project in the past three years.
The APC leader made this known at a press conference on Friday in Abuja, where he likened the nature of Ortom’s exit to a Nollywood movie.
Ortom rejoined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday.
He made the announcement at a meeting with elected local government chairmen and Councillors at the Government House, Makurdi.
But that was after some youths protested and prevented him from travelling to Abuja to attend an APC reconciliation meeting.
The governor and former governor of the state Senator George Akume had been having a running battle over the control of the party in the north-central state.
And in his official reaction to Ortom’s exit, Oshiomhole said the APC leaders in Benue discovered that the governor could not mention just one project he has commissioned since he assumed office in May 2015.
He said, “So, I couldn’t assure governor Ortom that we will overrule the position of our members and leaders in Benue state that come 2019 we will give him ticket. I wanted to simply cross check with him in the allegations made against him and he was to come by Wednesday that is why he organised that drama. And that tells you the quality of reasoning. With all due respect to Governor Ortom, how can you reduce governance to Nollywood?
“From the point of view of our leaders in Benue state, their position was clear that they believe that fielding Governor Ortom on the APC platform in the 2019 election can only lead to electoral defeat for a number of reasons.
“They reminded us that in spite of the allocations accruing to Benue state and in spite of the bail out funds amounting to over N20 billion that they had received in two instalments of N10 billion each and in addition to the huge sums of money that Benue State collected from the Paris Club Refund, Gov. Ortom has not, and is not paying salaries to Benue workers as and when due, including teachers, local government employees and the state civil servants.
“He is owing some of them as much as 12 months salary, some more than 16 months and so the entire economy of Benue state that survives largely on civil servants salaries is to that extent compromised.
“Of course, what is not readily obvious to many, and which they told us, is the fact that most of our elders who have built houses as part of their retirement plans and who expect to live on rent paid by civil servants who are tenants, the fact that the entire civil service in Benue state are not being paid means that they in turn are defaulting in the payments of their rents and you know the implication of this on traders and the commercial life of Benue state. This element alone substantially explains the vicious cycle of poverty in Benue state that has been deepened under Gov. Ortom.”
He also said, “Governor Ortom played up the ethnic dimension of criminality whereas in truth, some of those who have been killed were not killed by Muslims, they were killed by Christians of Benue state origin, including those he has employed. So, his attempt to explain away criminality by playing up ethnic sentiments is not helpful to what he should do as governor to manage the situation better.”
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