BENUE State Governor Samuel Ortom is locked in a battle of supremacy with the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator George Akume. Ortom rode on the back of Akume to win the APC governorship ticket in 2014 and won the 2015 governorship election on the platform of the APC. The governor had lost the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in 2014 before he defected to APC.
Until they fell out recently, Akume and Ortom had been close associates for almost two decades. Observers believe the sore point in their relationship has to do with several issues, top of which was the enactment and implementation of the open grazing prohibition law by the Ortom administration. Akume had wanted the governor to toe the party line in formulating policies, but Ortom preferred to operate independent of the party leaders.
The crack in their relationship had generated political tension which resulted in the sudden alignment and realignment of political forces in the state. Ortom had fortified his political camp by sacking all Akume loyalists in his cabinet while retaining four commissioners and seven advisers who had no connection with the APC leader. As if that was not enough the governor unleashed yet another master stroke by firing chairmen of parastatals known to be Akume’s close associates.
The unfolding political melee made observers to wonder how and why the long dated robust relationship between Ortom and Akume turned sour a few months to next year’s general elections.
Analysts believe the current political crisis in the state was engendered by the resistance of herdsmen to the implementation of the anti-grazing law. The resistance had led to several attacks by herdsmen and killing of farmers and innocent people in the state. The killings had resulted in a face-off between Ortom and the Federal Government. Ortom had indicted the Buhari administration for what he described as Federal Government’s indifference to insecurity of lives and property in Benue State. He described the killings carried out by herdsmen in the state as a continuation of the 1804 jihad, which, according to him, was halted in Benue and prevented from proceeding to the sea.
An indication that Ortom was on his way out of the APC was his sudden romance with the PDP leaders in the state. He confessed that he was forced to reconcile with his known political rivals, former Governor Gabriel Suswam and immediate past Senate President, David Mark, to seek their input on how to solve the problem of herdsmen invasion of Benue communities.
Justifying his decision, Ortom said: “I saw all this as a problem for all Benue sons and daughters that is beyond party line, which is why I decided to put every sentiment aside, reconciled with relevant stakeholders and sit with them to brainstorm with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis. I cannot be a leader over dead people. 2019 is in God’s hand. This time, there is need for synergy, cooperation and unity among every Benue people across party lines. Therefore, I have reconciled with them, let them join me to push this fight away from Benue.”
The statement opened the gate for PDP chieftains across the country to pay solidarity visits to Ortom and as well persuade him to return to their fold. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Ekiti counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, used the occasion to criticise the Buhari administration’s handling of security problems in the country. The governors donated huge sums of money to Ortom for the welfare of the internally displaced persons in Benue State.
The Buhari’s condolence visit to the state on the other hand saw some residents carrying placards in front of the Government House, Makurdi in protest against the killings in the state. The development was believed to have prompted the cancellation of other programmes in the President’s itinerary, including visits to the palace of the Tor Tiv and some IDP centres.
An APC chieftain in the state alleged that the unseemly reception accorded President Buhari was pre-meditated by Ortom. According to him, “Ortom did not make any preparation for the President’s visit. He did not mobilise the people of the state to welcome the President. There were no banners to welcome the president except the one hoisted by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. Since then, the APC leaders in the state knew that Ortom had made up his mind to leave the party.
“The claim that he was given a red card was an afterthought. Ortom had been holding meetings with the PDP chieftains in the Government House since 2017 to perfect his defection plan. He was lucky to have defected to PDP, because if he had remained in APC, he would not get APC’s governorship ticket.
“We are relieved that Ortom has gone. He got our ticket on a platter of gold because he was never a participant during the process of our party’s formation. He became a candidate by accident and the lesson we have learnt in our party is that never again should anyone become a candidate on our platform by accident.”
To the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the decision of Ortom to leave the party was good riddance to bad rubbish. The party leader believes that Ortom cannot be exonerated from the killings in Benue. Oshiomhole alleged that some aides of the governor were behind some of the killings in Benue, including the ones that felled Catholic priests.
“Ortom was dancing on the grave of Benue residents. He became the APC flag bearer in 2015 by accident. Fielding Ortom in the 2019 elections would have led to a crushing defeat of the ruling party,” he said.
A close associate of Ortom and Akume gave an insight into issues that led to the sudden turn of events between them. According to him, “Akume had told Ortom on the day he (Ortom) signed the anti-grazing bill that he should not sign it because there would be backlash. Ortom responded by saying that if he didn’t sign the bill, the people of Benue would stone him, and he went ahead to sign the bill.
“There was a clash of interest on this issue. Akume did not want anything that would lock Benue and the presidency in a controversy, hence he advised Ortom against the enactment of the anti- grazing bill. But Ortom insisted that the law was in the interest of the people of Benue and went ahead to implement it.”
The Convener of the Middle Belt Movement for Justice and Peace, Comrade Joe Buka, said: “You don’t toy with a man who went into politics before you. With over 33 years of experience in the game and you think he would chicken out easily as a weakling? At the centre of it all is a struggle for political supremacy. I liken it to an individual mistaking a lion for a cat. He dared to touch the tail of the gentle lion and the roar that followed shook the entire state.”