Politics
Benue state Governor, Ortom set to leave APC
Moves by All Progressives Congress, APC, governors to reconcile Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and President Muhammadu Buhari have derailed, putting the state under political uncertainty as the governor gets set to exit the ruling party. The governor’s imminent exit got further traction at the weekend when he dissolved the state cabinet and in the process sacked associates of his one-time political patron, Senator George Akume.
When the governor dissolved the cabinet, he, however, retained four commissioners, who were known not to be in any way linked to Akume, a former governor of the state who wields immense political influence in the state. Ortom’s possible exit from the APC has been mostly fuelled by internal feelings of revolt against the APC upon allegations that the federal administration also controlled by the same party had been indifferent in the face of herdsmen attacks on the people of the state. In a move to stop the apparent defection, Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, had about two months ago, set up a committee to repair the relations between the governor and the President.
The committee is headed by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State and has the governors of Kaduna and Adamawa states as members. That move, it seemed, may have failed, following the governor’s shocking move at the weekend with the dissolution of the cabinet. Sources told Vanguard that the governor could be headed to his former party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, having apparently reached a truce with his predecessor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam. The truce, Vanguard gathered yesterday, was facilitated by the Tor Tiv, the pre-eminent traditional ruler in the state. Ortom’s continued presence in the APC, it was gathered, had become politically risky in the light of increasing misgivings by citizens of the state to the opposition by the federal administration to issues pertaining to the face-off between herdsmen and farmers in the state. PDP’s doors are open to everyone Governor Ortom’s spokesman, Tahav Agerzua, responding, said yesterday: “Governor Ortom has not announced his movement to another party.
If he has to move, it will be made public.” Despite prospects of an imminent realignment, the PDP was yesterday claiming indifference to the move even as it affirmed that the governor was welcomed to the party. Publicity Secretary of Benue State chapter of the PDP, Mr. Bemgba Iortyom, said the party was not in talks with Governor Ortom. He also maintained that the party’s doors were open to welcome the governor if he wished to return back to his former family.
Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday in Makurdi, Iortyom said: “Governor Ortom is not at the moment in talks with us.
Those talks about him coming to the PDP are rumours. “PDP’s doors are open to everyone who wants to join as far as he or she meets the condition precedent. It is not an all comers affairs; there are conditions that make one eligible to be a member of a political party.” “There are rules that govern every political party. If you abide by or observe those rules, you cannot stop any Nigerian from joining the party. “Every Nigerian is free to aspire to be a member of the PDP. We cannot conclude that a particular person will not be welcomed in the PDP, that will be against the principles that established the party. “That will also be a violation of the person’s fundamental human rights as it relates to freedom of association and all that.” Senator Akume, who collaborated with Ortom to stop Mr. Suswam’s plot to handpick his successor, did not respond to Vanguard’s calls at press time yesterday.
Moves by All Progressives Congress, APC, governors to reconcile Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and President Muhammadu Buhari have derailed, putting the state under political uncertainty as the governor gets set to exit the ruling party. The governor’s imminent exit got further traction at the weekend when he dissolved the state cabinet and in the process sacked associates of his one-time political patron, Senator George Akume. SAMUEL ORTOM When the governor dissolved the cabinet, he, however, retained four commissioners, who were known not to be in any way linked to Akume, a former governor of the state who wields immense political influence in the state. Ortom’s possible exit from the APC has been mostly fuelled by internal feelings of revolt against the APC upon allegations that the federal administration also controlled by the same party had been indifferent in the face of herdsmen attacks on the people of the state. In a move to stop the apparent defection, Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, had about two months ago, set up a committee to repair the relations between the governor and the President. The committee is headed by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State and has the governors of Kaduna and Adamawa states as members. That move, it seemed, may have failed, following the governor’s shocking move at the weekend with the dissolution of the cabinet. Sources told Vanguard that the governor could be headed to his former party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, having apparently reached a truce with his predecessor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam. The truce, Vanguard gathered yesterday, was facilitated by the Tor Tiv, the pre-eminent traditional ruler in the state. Ortom’s continued presence in the APC, it was gathered, had become politically risky in the light of increasing misgivings by citizens of the state to the opposition by the federal administration to issues pertaining to the face-off between herdsmen and farmers in the state. PDP’s doors are open to everyone Governor Ortom’s spokesman, Tahav Agerzua, responding, said yesterday: “Governor Ortom has not announced his movement to another party.
If he has to move, it will be made public.” Despite prospects of an imminent realignment, the PDP was yesterday claiming indifference to the move even as it affirmed that the governor was welcomed to the party. Publicity Secretary of Benue State chapter of the PDP, Mr. Bemgba Iortyom, said the party was not in talks with Governor Ortom. He also maintained that the party’s doors were open to welcome the governor if he wished to return back to his former family. Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday in Makurdi, Iortyom said: “Governor Ortom is not at the moment in talks with us. Those talks about him coming to the PDP are rumours. “PDP’s doors are open to everyone who wants to join as far as he or she meets the condition precedent. It is not an all comers affairs; there are conditions that make one eligible to be a member of a political party.” “There are rules that govern every political party. If you abide by or observe those rules, you cannot stop any Nigerian from joining the party. “Every Nigerian is free to aspire to be a member of the PDP. We cannot conclude that a particular person will not be welcomed in the PDP, that will be against the principles that established the party. “That will also be a violation of the person’s fundamental human rights as it relates to freedom of association and all that.” Senator Akume, who collaborated with Ortom to stop Mr. Suswam’s plot to handpick his successor, did not respond to Vanguard’s calls at press time yesterday.
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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