From Rose Ejembi and Scholastica Joseph, Makurdi

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has said he remains on the side of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, over the injustices meted out to him by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He spoke against the backdrop of a report that he had pitched camp with Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the the party.

The Benue governor, who spoke at the PDP Zone B, Benue North-West Senatorial district caucus meeting at Government House, Makurdi, yesterday, said he had not left the Wike camp.

“I just came back from London with Wike this morning; we are friends and I still maintain my stand on what I said. I haven’t moved from there.”

Ortom, however, clarified that he cannot work against the PDP and that he would support every candidate running on the party ticket.

“It does not mean I am not aggrieved, Wike is aggrieved and I am aggrieved too,” he said.

The Benue governor said the party leadership has not been fair to Wike based on activities that took place during and after the national convention.

“We have not been able to deploy adequately the internal conflict mechanism to resolve those issues and this is all I have been saying. I have not moved away from there, that I still sympathise with Wike on the injustice meted on him. Politics is about interest and where your interest is not protected, you have a right to protest, and I think that is what is happening. I sympathise with him and still stand with him that let the leadership of the party at the national level do the same thing.

“In politics nothing can be late, no matter how difficult it may seem if everybody brings down himself to the level of getting others who are aggrieved. And to say that some of us are happy with the injustice that have been meted, we remain committed to PDP and I feel that the right thing should be done to put us together.”

Ortom recalled that the Board of Trustee (BOT) Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, was in the state a few days ago.

“We deliberated on the matter, they sought my opinion first to know what my thinking was about the crisis. I told them the truth as far as I am concerned and they took it with passion and also asked me for recommendations which I gave. That was all that was done and I hope that they will do justice to it so that our party will take over power in 2023.”

The governor stated that the headline from Thisday newspaper stating that had split with Wike was not only false but also misleading.

He maintained that despite the crisis rocking the party at the national level, Benue State does not have any problem.

“From bottom to top we are good to go, as far as our party is concerned. I am working for our candidates.”

On the outcome of the caucus meeting, Governor Ortom said after due consultations, a Benue North-West Senatorial campaign team for the senate seat would be constituted and integrated into the main campaign council of PDP in the state with him as the chairman of the campaign council and Cletus Tyokaa as Secretary.