Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state got furious today, Thursday, against the former Senate President, David Mark, whom he accused of being jealous of him over his achievements as governor in two years.
He said that he had before now, regarded Senator Mark as an elder statesman in his state, but that with his pettiness which he had shown clearly, he no longer respects him.
Governor Ortom, who has been at loggerhead with his fellow Benue political leader over whether or not he donated wheelbarrows to Benue state as empowerment tools, made the accusation while answering questions from news men at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Ortom explained that the wheelbarrows which Senator Mark has been taking negatively about him, were actually not donated by him or his government, but were given by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for onward distribution to victims of the herdsmen attack in some parts of the state.
The governor said that for political mischief by those who have been uncomfortable with his numerous achievements, his name was inscripted on the wheelbarrows to make them look like it was his idea, adding: “immediately it was brought to my notice, I ordered that the distribution of the wheelbarrows be stopped. And yet, David Mark continued to give it some kind of emphasis.”
According to him, Senator Mark and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state are trying to pull him down against the background of the 2019 general elections, swearing that they would fail because majority of the people in the state are satisfied with what he has been able to do to better their lives and conditions in the last two years. [myad]
