Ortom’s defection: The facts, by Tahav Agerzua

Emmanuel Oladesu’s piece, Ortom’s defection: what next, on page seven of The Nation newspaper of Thursday, July 26, 2018, must have been lifted from the Benue state All Progressives Congress (APC) statement on Governor Ortom’s disclosure on the red card issued him.
It was lifted from that statement without any attempt to balance with fair hearing from Governor Ortom.
The analyst also ignored the rebuttal from the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr.
Tever Akase, who countered the APC statement.
The need to present facts about the Benue situation with regard to Governor Ortom’s defection from APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is therefore, imperative. At no time did the Benue APC leaders in Benue state ever raise issues of governance with him.
Indeed, there was no need for such.
Governor Ortom held regular meetings with the caucus of the party and all its leaders, briefing them on the security and financial position of the state at all times.
He also informed the people of the state whenever he received the federal government’s interventions including bailout, Paris Club refunds, budget support and others and how they were disbursed.
From the information made available to the people, the total of all the federal government’s interventions could not upset the debt of N69 billion owed as salaries, gratuities, and pensions inherited from the previous administration.
The high wage bill of the state compounded the matter.
In the face of dwindling federal allocations and inadequate internally generated revenue, the state government reached an understanding with workers to merge two months allocation to pay one month salary in November 2015. From that time up to the end of 2017, every civil servant in Benue state got paid full salary at least once in every two months.
It is the unpaid months that have accumulated to give the impression that salaries are not being paid. Whenever there have been interventions like bailout and Paris Club refunds, salary arrears of several months are paid. However, since January 2018, salaries have been paid regularly up till June 2018.
Meanwhile, funds are being sourced to pay arrears of salary and other arrears owed workers for some months last year.
In all these, Benue State University has been paid regularly up to date.
To give the impression that Benue workers have not been paid for one year at a stretch is false and mischievous.
To accuse Governor Ortom of poor performance is as baseless as it’s a display of ignorance.
Since assumption of office, the Ortom administration has recorded remarkable milestones in the security, health, agriculture, education, infrastructure and other sectors.
Governor Ortom did a widely acclaimed amnesty program which significantly reduced criminality in the state.
His intervention in the health sector broke a twelve year accreditation jinx at the Benue State University leading to the graduation of five sets of doctors totalling over 170 medical doctors.
The Schools of Nursing and Midwifery in Makurdi as well as College of Health Technology, Agasha, which lost accreditation for several years have been reconstructed and have since resumed academic activities. The School of Nursing has also been affiliated to the Benue State University for award of degrees. Over 40 Primary Health Care Centres have been constructed across the state.
Primary schools have received major face lift with 740 on-going projects, many of which have been completed.
The initiative has been extended to secondary schools including Government Girls Secondary School and Government College, Makurdi, as major beneficiaries.
Ortom mobilised contractors back to site on 11 major roads and started several new ones.
His intervention has seen the completion of the Oshigbudu – Obagaji road and that of Zaki – Biam -Afia-Gbeji. His urban renewal program has positively affected the House of Assembly complex, Ministry of Justice headquarters, Commissioners Quarters as well as the Tor Tiv’s temporary residence in Gboko while his new official residence being constructed is at completion stage.
This has come on the heels of his upgrading of the traditional institution.
For these and many others, the Governor has received several awards including that of The Nation newspapers which took place in May 2018.
The enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017 by Governor Ortom has endeared him to the people, no doubt.
This legislation is a product of the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
They know that the Fulani herdsmen’s agenda is conquest and occupation which they have openly announced.
It is not grazing. That is why the law remains dear in their reckoning. For someone to claim that it is meant to divert attention is the height of for the sensibilities of the Benue people. The people believe that there must be respect for the law otherwise there will be anarchy.
The analyst displayed his ignorance about the membership of the Benue state House of Assembly.
His scoffed at the defection of 10 out 17 members into PDP and made light of it. The situation on ground is that the defection has swelled the number of PDP legislators at the assembly up to 22 out of 30.
This is more than two-third majority in the assembly. The Governor left APC for PDP with hundreds of his appointees, 14 local government chairmen, majority of the councilors in the 276 council wards in the state and several other supporters, yet the analyst tagged him a paper weight Governor.
Over the years, the Governor has been local government chairman, party administrator at the state and federal levels, successful business man as well as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Through these positions he has amassed millions of supporters.
It is on record that those who claim to have structures tried to install a Governor in 2011 but they were not successful.
It was when Ortom joined their ranks in 2015, that they succeeded.
Incidentally at the time that Governor Ortom was local government chairman on a partisan platform, these structure owners were still in the civil service.
Now they can induce an analyst to describe Governor Ortom as a paper weight Governor.
Only time shall tell.
His leaving the APC for the PDP is well founded; the Benue, who gave him the mandate to govern to feel that the PDP-controlled federal government is an accomplice in their killings and continuous neglect.
In Benue, the leader of the party has hijacked things and not given room for other stakeholders to participate.
Stakeholders have advised Governor Ortom to move to another platform and he has done that.