APC has given me red card – Ortom

-No, it’s a rumour – Oshiomhole

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state may likely be on his way out of the ruling All Progressives Congress, following his revelation that the party has allegedly given him ‘a red card.’
Governor Ortom, one of the 24 APC governors, dropped the hint yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital at the swearing-in of the Special Adviser on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Jerome Shimbe.
The governor, who claimed to have been traumatised by the incessant clashes between Benue farmers and herders which have led to the spate of killings in his state by alleged Fulani herders, unequivocally declared that his party has issued him a red card and that it was becoming clear that he was no longer in their ‘Club.’
At different times, Ortom had accused the federal government and the various security agencies of abandoning citizens of the state and exposing them to killer-herders.
He also lamented that a cabal in the Presidency and the APC, had blocked his communications with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Taking his grievances a notch higher yesterday, Governor Ortom, in a voice laced with emotion, told the shocked audience at the ceremony that with the new development, he was free to join any political party that would approach him and one with an ideology after his heart.
The governor, who likened his party to a football club said, “my club has given me red card. And if my team is not working or has left me out of play, I will tell the Benue people that I am joining another club.
“I don’t know what will happen next, but I’m waiting. If others approach me, then I will tell the Benue people that I’m joining another football club.”
“I am a child of destiny. I rose to this position through God’s providence and God is the only one that will decide my destiny,” he added.

Oshiomhole denies
However, in a swift reaction, the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, dismissed the reported exit of Governor Ortom as a rumour.
The APC chair believed that the governor is a loyal party man and a man of integrity who will not take such steps without consulting with the party leadership.
“The party will not comment on the basis of rumour. I am sure that eventually we will find out the facts of the matter and we will now act. Governor Ortom is a respected, prominent member of the APC and he has said repeatedly that he will not leave the APC unless he was pushed out,” he said.

Benue killings
The spate of killings in Benue state heightened with the passage of the anti-grazing law that outlaws open grazing and criminalises activities of the nomadic herders.
Following the ugly trend, the governor publicly stated that he was losing control of the people because of the persistent killings of innocent women and children by herders, and regretted that the seemingly inaction of the federal government has rendered the people rather hopeless.
Though there have been calls for the proscription of the anti-grazing law as a major way out of the killings, the governor has insisted that the state government won’t change position.
Rather, he urged the people to be patient and wait for further political developments soonest.

The CUPP link?
It would be recalled that members of the nPDP, had in conjunction with some aggrieved APC members, formed a splinter group known as the Reformed APC and later entered into an alliance with the PDP and 38 others, on the platform of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).
Before this latest development, Senators Shehu Sani, Hunkuyi from Kaduna state, Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Akeem Baba-Ahmed, and an aide to Speaker, House of Representatives, Usman Bawa, all from Kaduna state, among several others, have denounced their membership of the ruling party.

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