Strong indication has emerged that the crisis brewing in the Benue state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over the choice of a candidate for the 2023 general election has further deteriorated as all gubernatorial aspirants have rejected Governor Samuel Ortom’s men.
Findings reveal that all gubernatorial aspirants in the state angling to occupy Benue Government House have formed a nucleus team coded named ‘Like Minds’ against two aspirants presented by governor Ortom as his possible successors. The Ortom’s preferred choices are said to be his former Chief of Staff, Hon. Terwase Orbunde and former Commissioner for Education, Prof. Dennis Ityavyar.
The Like Minds hinged their argument on the abysmal performances of the duo of Orbunde and Ityavyar while they held sway as Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Education respectively. Insisting that if governor Ortom insists on anyone of his loyalist PDP will lose the state as they’ll join forces with the opposition and work against them.
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A member of Like Minds who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Ityavyar served as chairman of the Economic Team in the first tenure of Ortom and the only thing he attracted to the state was a plethora of MoUs and as well as extortion of students for the payment of scholarship forms without payment and superintendent over deductions of salaries of teachers. While Orbunde is also accused of being a member of the ill-fated Economic Team and failed to provide purposeful direction to all staff of the governor.
It was reliably gathered that the Like Minds are insisting that due to how unpopular the due of Orbunde and Ityavyar are and their lack of vision that governor Ortom is insisting so that he will continue to run the state in proxy as against the wishes and aspirations of the Benue people.
Further findings revealed that in sensing danger, Orbunde has issued a press statement appealing to the Like Minds to pardon his lack of vision and imperfection by saying: “Orbunde appealed to all aspirants to reckon with human imperfections”.
Already the former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ortom, Mr. Terver Akase who has expressed his disapproval of the exercise through a press statement signed on his behalf by the media director of his campaign Mr. Nathaniel Nongu and quoted to have said: “Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship aspirant in Benue State, Mr. Terver Akase enjoins his teeming supporters across the state to remain calm and wait for the outcome of the review”.
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Findings also revealed that governor Ortom has snubbed PDP elders in the state who have asked him to review his stands and maintain the status quo arrived at by members of the G14 which zoned the 2023 gubernatorial election to the Jechira bloc in zone A.
A member of the G14 who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak said: “Governor Ortom should be grateful to PDP and respect the wishes of the people. We agreed that the 2023 gubernatorial candidate should come from the Jechira bloc and such a person must be acceptable to all else the event of 2015 will be a child’s play against PDP. Already there is a crisis in the party and the only way out is to do the right thing and the right thing is for him not to interfere nor change the goal post in the middle of the game but allow a level playing group.”
