MAKURDI – There are indications that Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and Senator Gabriel Suswam (PDP/ Benue North-East), as well as a host of other politicians in the state may soon be defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
TrackNews Online reliably gathered that Senator Gabriel Suswam, among other notable persons in the state, may have brokered the meeting that led to the cessation of hostilities between Governor Ortom and his estranged godfather, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, ahead the defection move.
But both Governor Ortom and Senator Suswam denied they were about to abandon the PDP for the APC.
It was further learnt that prior to the meeting, and even last weekend, the state government had asked all its supporters on the social media to hold back attacks on any issue that was connected to Senator Akume and the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that long before Governor Ortom defected from the APC to the PDP, ahead of the 2019 elections, until last Monday, there was no love lost between the governor and Akume.
The reunion, TrackNews Online learnt, was made possible by highly placed sons of Benue who met penultimate Sunday for about eight hours to smoothen the rough edges in the relationship between Akume, a former governor of the state, with his godson, Ortom.
The peace meeting dovetailed into Akume attending the first meeting of stakeholders drawn from Benue North-East and Benue North-West senatorial districts in the state, after several years of absence.
However, prior to the meeting, TrackNews Online gathered that, as part of moves to appease Akume, some commissionership positions may be allocated to him in the next cabinet reshuffle that would take place any moment from now in order to show that the reconciliation was genuine.
Also, certain agreements may have been reached with Akume, which would be that some local government areas (LGAs) in Benue North- West senatorial district would be left exclusively to the minister to decide those to put in power, beginning with the LG elections slated for this Saturday, May 30, 2020.
However, Governor Ortom and Senator Suswam have denied that they were planning to dump the PDP for the APC.
In a text message to TrackNews Online, Suswam simply replied: “It is not true.”
Similarly, Governor Ortom said, “That allegation is unfounded.”
In a statement signed by Terver Akase, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor and made available to TrackNews Online in Makurdi on Sunday, Akase said: “Governor Samuel Ortom is not leaving PDP.”
The CPS also said: “He (Ortom) did not hold any meeting with anyone to discuss plans to join APC. No such meeting ever took place.
“The rumour is an imaginary concoction of mischief makers.
“Why will the governor leave PDP where he is comfortably leading the party to achieve greater things and bring development to Benue State?”
Akase, therefore, advised members of the public to ignore the report which he described as a rumour.
