The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday, declared with some air of confidence that Governor Samuel Ortom would not leave his party.
He made the declaration shortly after a meeting with the governor at the APC secretary in Abuja.
On Monday, Ortom, in Makurdi, Benue State, declared that he had been given a “red card,” hence he had decided to join another platform.
But speaking on Thursday, Oshiomhole said Ortom remained in the party and would not leave.
He however warned the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to stay away from the governor.
He described Ortom as a man of honour who would not renege on his promise.
Oshiomhole noted that although there might be disagreement between Ortom and former Governor George Akume, their grievances would be addressed and peace would return to the party in the state.
He said that there was no giving Ortom a “red card” as the APC had none.
His words: “For PDP hovering round they must know that only people without honour will vomit in the morning and in the afternoon, they convert it to lunch. People like Ortom who have honour cannot leave PDP three and half years ago, with his eyes open, and then there is some tension in his master bedroom, he is thinking of returning to People Deceiving People? I mean that cannot be an option.
“He is a man of honour. He knows that once you make one step forward, you take the second step to consolidate the first step and that is the way to go.”
READ ALSO: Despite jail term, Dariye retains seat in Senate
Speaking on the conflict between Ortom and Akume, Oshiomhole said:
“Senator Akume is a respected leader of the party. He is former governor and a current senator. He will recognise the need for peace and we have what it takes to make peace.
“In Benue, we are going for win-win solution. Governor Ortom is not going anywhere. He is a very prominent member of our party and we appreciate his leadership in Benue. We will do everything possible to help those who have issues to resolve the issues. The only thing will we not accept is anybody leaving the house we have toiled to build together.
“APC does not even have red card, so we can’t give what we don’t have. We recognise that there could be a legitimate legal issue like agreement, disagreement and contest. All these we are familiar with, they are evidence that we are a democratic party. When leaders have disagreement, it is to help them and find a common ground and issues in Benue are not so fundamental that cannot be resolved. We are very confident that we will resolve them.”
