- Gov should forget second term – Sen Akume
- Let the gov be, Waku warns opponents
The political tussle and upheaval in the country ahead of the 2019 general elections are surely taking new dimensions with the passing of each day. Benue State is not an exception as there seems to be no end to the bickering between Governor Samuel Ortom and his political godfather, Senator George Akume.
The battle between the two leaders of the party in the state actually deepened, penultimate week, with the sack of 10 of Akume’s loyalists, who were also members of the state executive council. The casualties of the raging power game were sacked for what the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Tony Ijohor (SAN), described as incompetence and slowing the wheel of progress in the state.
Four loyalists of the governor who were commissioners, however, retained their portfolios out of the 16. They are: the Attorney General, Michael Gusa; Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Dennis Ityavya; Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Bernard Umenger, and Commissioner for Finance, Mr. David Olofu.
Barely two days after the partial dissolution of the state cabinet, Head of Internal Revenue Service, Mrs. Mimi Orubibi, and her counterpart in the Urban Development Board, Mr. Richard Agwa, were relieved of their appointments. Some Special Advisers perceived to be in Senator Akume’s camp also lost their jobs.
The feud between the two gladiators deepened as the Governor finally announced his defection to the opposition PDP where he actually came from, after losing the gubernatorial ticket during the last general election. He announced the decision last Wednesday during a meeting with 13 council chairmen and 264 councilors at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, the state capital.
He said the decision became necessary following undemocratic practices that had taken over the APC in the state, asserting that he had received the worst treatment in the party even as a sitting governor, who ordinarily was supposed to be the leader of the party in the state.
“I want to appreciate all of you, local government council chairmen and your councilors, for giving me your support, especially for agreeing to stand by me wherever I go. I have tried to endure the aggression that has been meted out on me in the APC over time but since I cannot cope any longer, it is better for me to shift base,” Ortom declared.
CAUSE OF RIFT BEWTEEM ORTOM, AKUME
One of the issues which led to the disaffection between the two gladiators is the alleged refusal by Senator Akume to ‘renew’ Governor Ortom’s mandate for a second term in office. This is against the backdrop of the fact that the governor’s predecessors from the two other zones had enjoyed eight years in office.
Sources revealed that Akume, who is the leader of APC in Benue, made known his feelings a few weeks ago at a forum of his kinsmen while playing host to his Jemgbagh peer group at his residence in Wannune, Tarka Local Government. He was alleged to have said that Governor Ortom’s future is hanging in the balance.
According to the sources, the Senator representing Benue North West told the group that he assisted Governor Ortom to clinch the APC ticket after losing the PDP primaries on the agreement that he (Akume) will be the decision-maker in the government, only for Ortom to create his own clique within his government and they started behaving contrary to what was initially agreed upon.
Senator Akume had allegedly said that after Ortom sacked thousands of workers and had refused to pay the existing workforce, he decided to engage the services
of Aliyu Tashaku, Head of Livestock Guards, to use the anti-grazing law to reclaim sympathy of the masses.
Senator Akume was quoted to have told his audience that Ortom conducted the first mass burial only because his rice farm in Guma was burned down.
He was said to have allegedly boasted to his audience that “Those of you who are close to Ortom should tell him that Senator George Akume said he should count himself out of Government House ahead of 2019.”
Akume allegedly said the Presidency and the hierarchy of the ruling party were not disposed to Ortom’s re-election and had concluded arrangements to replace him with the current Managing Director, Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority, Barr. Emmanuel Jime, who had previously served in the green chambers of the National Assembly and also contested in the last general election under the ticket of the ruling party in the state but was allegedly robbed by political godfathers.
LEAVE ORTOM ALONE, WAKU TELLS AKUME
Sen. Joseph Waku, while lending his voice to the ongoing political tussle between Ortom and Akume, emphasised that as far as his kinsmen from Minda extraction were concerned, Akume has no right to hit the governor with a sledge hammer . He explained that Akume is a former Governor, who served between 1999 and 2007, enjoying eight years of uninterrupted governance and that legacy has to be maintained.
Waku warned that the idea of replacing Ortom with another ‘son of the soil’- a Minda person, as being alleged, was unacceptable, and shall not stand the test of time. He said any attempt to edge out Ortom in the scheme of things would be resisted.
“This action is capable of generating bad blood and we will remain firm until the governor is allowed to complete eight years, just like his predecessors. Akume should also know that what is sauce for the geese is also sauce for the gander,” Waku said.
Places classified as Minda in Benue include: Makurdi, Gwer East, Gwer West and Guma local government areas.
Political observers who spoke on condition of anonymity said the bickering which has clogged the wheel of progress in the state, is uncalled for. They wondered how an individual interest should hold the entire state to a standstill, maintaining that both political gladiators, Ortom and Akume, could have buried the hatchet for the purpose of enhancing the quality of wellbeing of the citizens, rather than engaging in political supremacy which does not benefit the common man on the street .
HOW PRO-AKUME SPEAKER LOST OUT
Although, Speaker of the State Assembly, Terkimbir Ikyange, escaped the initial attempt by some of his colleagues to impeach him, the Assembly, in a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday, July 24, removed the Speaker from office through an impeachment notice signed by 22 of the 30-member Assembly. Ikyange’s major crime, according to watchers of the political crisis in the state, is that he is a pro-Akume lawmaker.
The Speaker, and erstwhile Majority Leader, Barr Benjamin Adanyi, and other lawmakers considered loyal to Akume were exempted from the sitting.
However, Ikyange is insisting that he remains the Speaker. Both factions have adjourned till August 15 to resume plenary.
Pundits say the moves are targeted at crippling the political empire of Senator Akume, who has remained silent since the imbroglio came to the public glare, in spite of pressure on him to comment on the raging permutations.
In his reaction, the special adviser to the governor on media and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerdzua, described the scenario as a normal procedure in governance, noting that no condition is
permanent.
He maintained that his principal had only carried out partial reshuffle, in line with his earlier pledge to reshuffle when necessary.
