Ortom will lose supplementary poll, Akume vows

Despite loud boasts and expression of confidence, Governor Samuel Ortom and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are bound to lose Saturday’s supplementary election to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator George Akume has declared.

Speaking with our correspondent, Akume, a former governor of Benue state pointedly asserted his former political associate Ortom has no record of achievement to genuinely woo citizens for votes.

“Find out from this man: precisely what are your achievements? Sometimes I look at this and laugh because one of the achievements he claims is a private initiative in my village, a privately-owned soya processing factory.

“Those who go to Benue will weep for that state. This is a state that has all the potentials of feeding the entire West Africa sub region.

“I know the type of industries i tried to set up, agro -based, cassava processing plant, fertiliser plants, the special project in Makurdi which was expected to produce plastic.

“But since he (Ortom ) came in, what has happened? Recently I heard that he bought 50 tractors to distribute to farmers and what is 50 tractors?

“When I went to Government House during President Buhari’s visit, I saw ten tractors and i don’t know whether it is just for show man ship but when Sokoto bought two thousand tractors over two years ago, Kebbi got 1,500.

“The Benue farmer is very hard working, the Benue man is an intelligent person but they also need an enabling environment to enable them express themselves maximally and efficiently in agricultural sector in particular, but it is not happening.

“The schools in Benue state, if not because of school feeding, primary schools would have been dead; the teachers go there, they don’t teach because they are not being paid,” Akume said.

The former governor stated that his former political associates whom he helped to uplift will suffer divine retribution for their betrayals.

According to him: “As a Christian and God-fearing person, I believe in doing good to people. We are enjoined to forgive. In whatever I do, I lay down every consideration.

“That is part of my philosophy of life, in the political arena and in Benue state in particular.

“I know and people know what I have done but today fighting Akume, ganging up against Akume is their way to deconstruct but they know very well, my contribution to their political uplift.”