About 13 governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State have kicked against the planned return of Governor Samuel Ortom to the PDP.
The aspirants, who addressed reporters in Abuja yesterday, described Ortom as a liability and of negative value to any political party.
They wowed to resist attempts by the party’s national leadership to impose Ortom on the state, saying the existing executive must not be tampered with.
According to the aspirants, Ortom has no electoral value and as such, can only jeopardise PDP’s chances in 2019.
One of the aspirants, John Tondu, said: “The governor confirmed he was being chased out of the All Progressives Congress (APC). If Ortom had any electoral value, the APC would not have chased him out.”
Tondu said giving Ortom the ticket would spell doom for the party, stressing the electorate have rejected him for non-performance.
“Because of the love we have for the people, anything that will cripple our plan to take over the state should not be tolerated,” Tondu added.
Terhemen Tarzoor said the governor’s credibility had reached an all-time low and so his rejection by the APC.
Tarzoor said: “We are sensitive about the value and character of those joining the PDP. We won’t watch people of negative value join the party; someone who has not paid salaries for one year and four months.
“When a person is chased out of a party, it speaks much about that person and what he represents.”
Leader of the aspirants Prof. David Ker urged the party to ensure credible primaries, saying anything short of that would spell doom for PDP.
Ker said: “We reiterate that a level-playing field for transparent primaries remains the only option by which the party could successfully nominate a candidate for the 2019 governorship election.
“While we may not oppose any group or individuals from joining and participating in the party, we are strongly opposed to a purported unilateral decision to dissolve the executive to accommodate or give undue advantage to any group or person angling to join the party.”