Stop Backing Ayu’s Ouster, Group Tells Ortom

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has been advised against supporting the plot to remove the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Iyorchia Ayu, from office.

The president of the Abuja branch of Jemgbagh Development Association in Benue State, Mr. Terver Felix Abor, said in Abuja yesterday that the association, in its effort to canvas equal opportunity and peaceful coexistence, was appealing to governor Ortom and other members of the PDP to back Ayu to succeed as the party chairman.

Abor said the association, which has members from Gboko, Buruku and Tarkaa local government areas of Benue State, was quite uncomfortable with governor Ortom’s position of usually undermining people of the area and trying to push them out of relevance.

He said, “Under the leadership of Ortom, Dr George Akume who supported him to become governor was pushed out of the Senate. Today, Senator Emmanuel Orkev Jev, another famous politician from Jemgbagh, is no longer going to the Senate because of Ortom. Your attempt of retiring Jemgbagh sons and daughters out of political importance…is as sound as the noise in a village square.”

He said Ayu must not be forced out of office because he had, among other things, demonstrated love for southern politicians as evidenced in his support for Chief MKO Abiola, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Jonathan to win presidential elections.

The association president said they were not calling the media aide to Governor Ortom, Mr. Nathaniel Ikyur, to clarify the governor’s position on the issue as they had seen it in his recent outing on Channels TV after a state executive council meeting.

But the governor’s aide said when asked by LEADERSHIP for comment that he would respond in due course.

General secretary of the association, Thomas Langhen and his predecessor, Philip Akile, said the association was not fighting the governor but was only out to support its people where things are going wrong.