Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom has said that he decided to shift his political loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because it supports the State open grazing prohibition, which adversely affects Fulani herdsmen in the state.
“We had to abandon that platform (APC) in search of one that offers more accommodation and support for our policies, especially the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017.”
Governor Ortom, who won his first term election in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but recently defected to his former PDP that denied him the governorship ticket in 2015, stressed that he defected to PDP because it is a more credible alternative for him to achieve his policies.
The governor, who spoke in Makurdi, the state capital during the flag-off of his governorship campaign, regretted that highly paced officials in the APC-led Federal Government made various attempts to frustrate an imperative legislation aimed at finding lasting peace between farmers and herders in the state.
“Such frustrating efforts by highly placed members of the federal government necessitated my exit from the party to one that will not compromise our stance on a matter so key to the Benue people.
“This is the platform on which we seek the renewal of our mandate. No one will bend us as far as the Ranching Law is concerned because we draw consent and sustained support from the Benue people.”
Governor Ortom, reacting to allegation that he had not performed, declared that he had done well “given the circumstances of our economy and unwarranted aggression and attacks on Benue.
“I may not be a genius, but I perfectly know what I wanted as a governor. I cannot lie to the people that trust me. Take this truth from me; my government has done well, and statistics don’t lie.”
Source: NAN.
