Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has declared that he would no longer join issues with the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume despite the alleged verbal attacks on his person by the former governor.
According to him, ‘politics is over and now it is time for governance.’
He also advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Emmanuel Jime to stop crying foul over the outcome of the election.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Terver Akase, on Thursday, Governor Ortom advised the Minister to stop playing God in the politics of Benue state.
The statement read in part, “Senator George Akume and the governorship candidate of the APC in Benue State, Emmanuel Jime made Governor Samuel Ortom the target of all manner of verbal attacks at the reception.
“Senator Akume declared again that he singlehandedly determined who became Governor of the state in 2015 and castigated Governor Ortom for always claiming that God made him Governor.
“’I made Ortom Governor not the Holy Spirit’, Akume boasted at the reception.
“It was not the first time that Senator Akume would make such a blasphemous statement. He had made a similar claim during the valedictory session of the 8th Senate.
“In a speech that lasted for about 40 minutes at the reception, the Minister failed to tell his audience what benefits his new position would bring to his people. He instead hurled bile at Governor Ortom who he also accused of diverting public funds to enrich himself.
“Jime, on the other hand, heaped unprintable insults on the Governor, calling him an uneducated man and alleged that the 2019 governorship election was rigged. We find utterances of the Benue APC leader and its governorship candidate quite unfortunate.
“The antics of APC leadership in Benue State are obviously targeted at sustaining their support base with rhetoric and claims of a mandate that was neither given them nor stolen.
“Governor Ortom has chosen not to join issues with Senator Akume any longer. It is the considered decision of the Governor that politics is over and now it is time for governance.”
