“I am here in APC…I am still flying the flag of APC. I only said I was given a red card. That has been corrected by the national leadership of the party,” he said.
Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The embattled Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has rescinded his decision to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He made the disclosure after he met with the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole at the party’s national secretariat, yesterday.
“I was given a red card by a senator who is the leader of the party in Benue State. But the leadership of the party told me that the decision at the national level is superior to any individual and I think that is good enough. We have spoken to him, he has spoken to me, stakeholders are going to be spoken to and that is where I belong. We have not concluded the matter, it is an ongoing process because I have always stood for peace and I always want peace to prevail.
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“I appreciate the intervention and I hope that we would be able to resolve the matter of differences.
“I am here in APC…I am still flying the flag of APC. I only said I was given a red card. That has been corrected by the national leadership of the party,” he said.
Ortom had on Monday said the party had given him red, and that presently, he did not belong to any political party.
Oshiomhole said the ruling party did not have any red card to issue any genuine party member.
“I have assured, as the national chairman, that APC does not have a red card in our cupboard so we can’t give what we don’t have. We recognised that in several states, there could be legitimate legal issues, there could be agreement, disagreement, some contestations and this we are familiar with.
“These are evidence of the fact that we are a free, democratic party. And when leaders have disagreements, our responsibility is to help them to find a common ground. The issues in Benue are not so fundamental that we cannot resolve.
“We have made it clear that we would resolve them and Senator Akume is a very respected leader of the party, a former governor. He will recognise the need for peace and we have what it takes to make peace.
“In Benue, we are going for a win-win solution. Governor Ortom is not going anywhere,” he stated.
Also, the Benue chapter of the party denied giving Ortom the red card.
Director of Publicity of APC in the state, Mr. Peterhot Apeh, who made the denial in a statement yesterday in Makurdi, said, “the APC has not at any point given a red card to Gov. Samuel Ortom or any other member of the party.
“Rather, the party at its last state congress in Makurdi endorsed the governor and leader of the party in the state, Sen. George Akume for another term in office.
“The endorsement was meant to further unite the party in the state and provide a stable political atmosphere for the governor as well as the leader of the party to deliver better dividends of democracy to the people of the state.’’
“In return for the endorsement, we demand from the governor improved welfare for the people of the state,’’ Apeh said.
