Governor Samuel Ortom, yesterday, assured Nigerians that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would deploy its internal conflict resolution mechanism to resolve whatever disagreements there is at the national leadership level of the party.
He assured that the issue would be surmounted in no time saying that the PDP remains the only hope for Nigerians.
The Governor spoke when he received in audience a former All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial candidate in the state, Chief Mimi Adzape-Orubibi and the Chairman of the party in her area as well as the party’s executives who will formally decamp to the PDP on Saturday.
The Governor said “I want to assure Nigerians that despite the leadership challenge we have we are till together and we will resolve it soon. We may recall that even the tongue and the teeth sometimes fight but they settle.
“And so PDP is going to deploy its internal conflict resolution mechanism and we shall rise up from there because Nigerians are fed up. They are tired of being taken from the top to the button since 2015. Have you not heard what Mr. President said that he was going to take Nigeria from top to bottom and he has actually done that.
“How much was the Dollar in 2015 when President Buhari took over from Goodluck Jonathan? N180. Today we are battling with over N500. Can you imagine. On security, we were battling with only Boko Haram then, but today, we have Fulani bandits, we Fulani herdsmen, we have Fulani mercenaries, we have Fulani kidnappers, we have Fulani armed robbers, we have Fulani thieves, we have Fulani AK-47. And then they will decieve us that they are tackling them.
“So we want a leadership that will take us from bottom to top.
I commend my sister for taking a bold step like I did in 2017. Though as a member of the ruling party, when I saw the injustice being perpetrated on our people and the inequality and the unfairness, I decided to jump ship and joined the PDP where I contested and won.
“And since I left the APC I have not regretted. APC is a party of injustice, it is a party that does not believe in the rule of law. It is a party that does not believe in democracy, equity, fairness and justice. It is a party that believes that no other Nigerian, except the Fulanis should be equal.
“We can see what they are doing already, it is a party that wants to make everybody slave but for some of us, we say no, we cannot be slaves to others.
“We believe in democracy, we believe in one Nigeria. And we believe that everyone should have freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of association. Let there be equity, fairness and justice. That is what we stand for, yesterday, today and forever. We stand for equity, fairness and justice in this country for all Nigerians.
“We oppose those who think that they can impose their culture on us. Nigeria is a country of over 250 nationalities, we respect every nationality, whether you are Fulani, you are Tiv, Yoruba, Idoma, Igala, Hausa or you are Igbo or South South, we respect you.
“For us in Benue, that’s what we respect. We oppose any culture that wants to dominate us and take over our land and give it to their people. We say no to that, we will always stand to defend our people.
“In Benue State we are committed to this and I am working closely with the people that elected me as Governor of Benue state. And I stand in solidarity with them and I stand with utmost commitment to my people because democracy is about the locality.
“All politics is local. So we remain grateful and committed to our locality, our locality first before outside. And so, we are going to resist any attempt to impose a different culture on us and we are not going to impose our culture on other people.
“So I commend Mimi and all of you who are here to pay solidarity with her and to assure you that I will visit your local government on Saturday to witness the formal decamping of our illustrious daughter.”
(VANGUARD)
