Benue State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed displeasure over utterances credited to the “defeated candidate” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election, Emmanuel Jime, against the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom.
Mr. Jime who reportedly spoke at a decamping ceremony in Lafia, Nasarawa state, a few days ago, was quoted in the press as paying glowing tribute to the developmental strides of Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, and urged Ortom to learn governance from him.
Jime was also quoted to have urged other governors in the region to emulate Gov. Sule, while particularly deriding the developmental strides of the Ortom administration in Benue State.
The party in a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bemgba Iortyom, also berated member of the House of Representatives for Vandeikya/ Konshisha Federal Constituency, Iorwase Hembe, for making similar utterances against the governor at the event.
The statement read in part, “Benue PDP firstly acknowledges the coming out of prolonged hibernation by Emmanuel Jime after his humbling defeat by Governor Samuel Ortom in 2019 for a second time, which is more “unprecedented” than what he views as Governor Sule’s strides in Nasarawa State.
“The party equally seeks to educate the defunct APC guber candidate and his partner-in-misadventure, Hembe, who by their utterances are evidently disconnected from the contemporary Benue situation.”
The party argued that while grappling with the unprecedented security challenges of Fulani herdsmen insurrection in Benue State, Governor Ortom has maintained uncommon commitment to development of the infrastructural and social amenities base of the state.
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He pointed out that “Under the Governor’s watch are ongoing and completed roads projects including the Mobile Barracks – Welfare Quarters – Yaikyo – Terwase Agbadu Road; Customary Court – George Akume Road; David Mark By-Pass in Makurdi; Armstrong Road; Och’Idoma Road; Commercial Road in Otukpo; Oshigbudu – Obagaji Road; Utonko – Igumale – Apa – Agila Road; Aper Aku Road; Shaahu Road; Ahmadu Bello Way in Gboko; Odoudaje – Aondona Road; Igbor – Ikpa – Wannune Road; Origbo – Akpu – Imande – Gbajimba Road; Yogbo – Udei Road.
“Completed and ongoing projects in the areas of health care delivery, education, water supply, commerce and industry, sports, youth, women development and empowerment are inclusive of the verifiable performance track-record of the Ortom administration to mention a few.
“PDP in Benue State is mindful that as Governor Ortom embraces a date with history championing the push for a new order in Nigeria, distractions in the form of the Jime/ Hembe naked dance in Lafia will prop up, but our faith is that the governor has proven himself over time a man of firm and visionary focus.
“We are equally mindful that Jime who all through his sojourn in politics only comes home to run in elections is evidently ignorant of the true situation in his native Mbagwen community which has been rendered desolate by Fulani herdsmen atrocities without his ever uttering a word about.
“Regarding Rep. Hembe, Benue PDP urges the federal lawmaker to focus more on extricating himself from the festering scandal of his involvement in financial sleaze at the Securities and Exchange Commission which to date serves a damning caveat to his unbridled political ambition.
“The party is a trifle bemused that the 4th term Reps member who should be thinking of his next political platform, after Benue APC Leader Akume’s endorsement of Elder Barnabas Gemade for the APC guber ticket in the state, is concerning himself with the affairs of tested and proven winners like Governor Ortom and PDP.
The party advised the duo of Jime and Hembe to refrain from such misadventure as they undertook in Lafia, for obvious but unfortunate pecuniary gains, and focus more on their political survival which is becoming a mirage with the passing of each day.
