Ortom Goes To Court As PDP Caucus Knocks Akume

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has said he will sue the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, to prove the allegations he made against his administration.

Addressing newsmen in Makurdi, the state capital, Ortom said the minister had peddled falsehood against him during a media outing in Abuja, hence the need to prove such allegations in a law court.

Akume had a few days ago, at a press conference held in Abuja, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Benue over insecurity.

He also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the governor’s financial dealing from May 29, 2015 to date, among others.

But Ortom said: “I’m taking Akume to court for him to come and prove all the allegations against me. I have not done anything outside the constitution of our land. He will go and prove all the falsehood, lies he told against me in court.”

The governor added that Akume, who served as Benue governor for eight years and twice as senator, did not only betray their confidence in him but stabbed them at the back.

Similarly, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has said the minister’s call for an emergency rule was counter-productive.

The State Chairman of PDP, Sir John Ngbede, at a press conference in Makurdi said: “The major demand of Senator Akume at the Abuja outing at which he sold his soul to the devil is a declaration of a state of emergency in Benue State.

Also, the PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected the call for an emergency rule in Benue State by Akume, and asked the minister to retract his statement.

 

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Mark Gbillah (PDP, Benue) alongside five other lawmakers from the state described the call as pathetic.