The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Benue State has described the state All Progressives Congress, APC, as the most dysfunctional and unpatriotic opposition in Benue’s political history.
The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, stated this while briefing journalists at the party secretariat in Makurdi, in response to the call by opposition APC that the state Governor Samuel Ortom should be impeached.
The APC had accused Governor Ortom of maladministration of the local government councils in the state and aiding corruption at that time of government.
Responding, Mr. Iortyom said ranging from handling of its internal processes to its position on matters of state, APC has come far short of the basic minimum required of an opposition party which should be seen as a partner in societal building.
Absolving the Governor of running LG administration in the state, the PDP publicity secretary said it was wrong of the APC to accuse the governor of frustrating the inauguration of local government vice chairmen and their councillors.
According to him, the council chairmen were vested with responsibility of inaugurating their vice and legislative arms in their respective council.
He said, “For starters, Governor Samuel Ortom does not run the local government administrations in Benue State, rather the Executive arm of the state government under his leadership only exercises oversight of that tier of government through clear cut constitutional provisions which do not include constituting councils and inaugurating them.
“Local government council chairmen are vested with such responsibility, and if in the course of exercising this they have inaugurated the vice-chairmen, which is a fact against the lie by APC that they have not been inaugurated, but have encountered delays for a period of less than two months, which we are aware is for purpose of consensus building and harmony within the system, it should be understandable, especially to a party like APC under which control it took President Buhari over half a year to pick a cabinet composed of recycled politicians.
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“It is the assurances from PDP as the sponsoring platform for those local government administrations as well as the Ortom administration that the right thing is being done at those councils as we are aware no council chairman has so far acted outside of their lawful powers, even as they have so very early shown through decisive steps that they will consolidate on the achievements of their predecessors and thereby continue on the trajectory of improvement of governance at that tier, even as we equally assure that the legislative arms of government at that level will within the shortest possible time be inaugurated.”
He said the opposition party has manifested lack in depth of thought and has shown themselves so incapable of comprehending even basically how the local government tier of administration functions.
While noting that the APC has shown itself an enemy of Benue by continually holding and bandying views which target at demarketing the state and seeking to scuttle the attainment of strategic gains being sought by the Ortom administration, the PDP called on Benue people to “beware of this same children of “Federal Might” as they have once again started the same,and by now, familiar dance steps targeted as usurping the popular mandate of the people.
He stated the Ortom administration, under the PDP, owe the people a duty of care to provide governance to them visiting that no amount of propaganda will distract them from the contractual obligation to discharge on the sworn oath of government to secure the lives and properties of the people while ensuring an enabling environment for them to thrive in private enterprise and industry.
