Richard Anyebe
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has maintained that he is still in support of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Ortom added that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not been fair to Wike.
Ortom Reacts To Reports He Has Broken From Wike’s Camp
The governor’s reaction is coming against the backdrop of media reports on Monday, September 26, saying that he has broken away from Wike’s camp as calls for the resignation of PDP Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, intensify.
Ortom and Ayu are both from Benue State and the former had disclosed that he worked for the latter to occupy the office.
Recall that Wike, since he lost PDP presidential primary ticket to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and the eventual selection of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as running mate instead of him, has been demanding the resignation of Ayu.
According to the governor, the presidential candidate of the party and the national chairman can not come from the same zone – the North.
Atiku hails from Adamawa (North -East) while Ayu comes from Benue (North-Central)
The governor based his call on a supposed agreement that if the presidential candidate emerges from the north, then the national chairman steps down or resigns.
But Ayu has refused to resign, saying he was duly voted at the national convention.
His refusal to step down has made the Rivers governor to withdraw his support for Atiku.
Ortom, a known face in the camp of Wike who came second at the presidential primary won by Atiku, reportedly contradicted the Rivers governor on Monday when he said he worked for Ayu to become PDP chairman and therefore can’t work for his removal.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, Ortom said, “There is no breaking away from our group. I still sympathize with Wike for the injustices meted out on him and our group.”
The statement was signed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur.
“I just came back from London this morning with Wike and I still maintain my stand on what I said. I have not moved away from there. The party leadership has not been fair to Governor Wike based on the activities that took place during the convention and after the convention.
“They have not been able to adequately deploy the internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to resolve those issues. So I still sympathize and stand with Wike and let the leadership of the party at the national level do the right thing. It is not too late to do so,” Ortom was quoted as saying.
In other news, Kanyi Daily had reported that Ortom warned the PDP and Atiku that ignoring Wike and his allies, was dangerous.
