Ortom In The Wilderness, 13 PDP Aspirants Oppose Gov’s Return

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state might have found himself in the lurch as 13 governorship aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have opposed his return to the party.

Ortom had insisted that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had given him a red card and he was outside the pitch seeking for a new platform to seek reelection in 2019.

The aspirants on Monday in Abuja under the auspices of Forum of Governorship Aspirants, said they will resist any attempt to truncate the internal democratic process that has characterized the Benue state chapter of the PDP.

Chairman of the Forum, David Ker, tasked the state chapter of the party to abide by its promise of a free and fair primaries, noting that anything short of that would spell doom for the party, warning that imposition of governorship candidate would be vehemently resisted.

“We reiterate that a level playing field for a free, fair and transparent primary election which has been promised us by the Benue state leadership of the PDP remains the only option by which the party could credibly and successfully nominate a governorship candidate in the 2019 governorship election if indeed the party is serious at recapturing power from the present APC-controlled government in the state.

“While we may not oppose any group or individuals from joining and participating in the affairs of the party in the state, we are strongly opposed to a purported unilateral decision to dissolve the executives of the party at all levels in the state to accommodate or give undue advantage to any group or person angling to join the party”, he said.

Another aspirant, John Tondu, insisted that the governor has no electoral value to make the PDP the party to beat.

“The governor of Benue state today is a liability, not an asset. He is not welcome.

“Because of the love we have for the people of Benue state, anything that will cripple our plan to take over the state should not be tolerated,” he said.