On Monday, September 3, this year, the Benue state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) handed over the leadership of the party to Governor Samuel Ortom amidst grumblings by his co-aspirants.
The decision of the party ended weeks of speculation about the governor’s status in the party and tension which threatened to break the party.
DANIEL AGBO analyses the unfolding scenario.
The decision to allow the governor to take over the leadership of the party was reached in a closed door meeting held at the Presidential Lodge of the Benue Government House in a meeting of big notches of the party in the state.
Those present at the meeting included former PDP National Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, former Senate President David Mark; former Senate President, Iorchia Ayu; former Governor of Benue state, Gabriel Suswam; Governor Samuel Ortom and former Interior Minister, Comrade Abba Moro.
This was the first time the PDP heavy weights in the state have come to work together since 2015 after the party was defeated and others left to pursue their ambitions in other political parties.
Top on the agenda of the meeting was how the issue of political structures control could be resolved without much rancour.
The political prowess exhibited by any powerful politician depends largely on the influence wielded by such a politician especially on the control of the state’s machinery.
No matter how powerful a politician may be, it amounts to naught if such powers do not extend to the control of the party’s structure of the state, the Americans would simply put it as “this is where it all goes down.” Having realised the danger of not being in possession of the state apparatus as governor on the APC platform, Ortom knew this time that there would be no room for mistakes.
He had to leave APC partly because the leader of the party in the state Senator George Akume, denied him access to the structures.
It could be noted that Akume had, as far back as 2010, when it was clear that he was going to be denied the ticket to return to the senate in 2011 because of the fight he picked with his successor Gabriel Suswam, who then was controlling the party structures, parted ways with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on which platform he was governor for eight years and senator for one term.
He defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on which platform he retained his Senate seat in 2011.
He had, with people like Buruku House of Representatives member, Orker Jev (who is now contesting Benue South West Senate against Akume) and Professor David Iornem built the ACN in the state, a platform which they used to fight against Suswam’s reelection bid in 2011, though without success.
The ACN, in 2014, merged with some other parties to form the APC ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Akume, who was desperately shopping for a candidate to humiliate Suswam, paved the way for Ortom, who served as a minister in President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, to join the APC where he was given the governorship ticket unopposed after he was denied the ticket by the PDP.
Considering the circumstances through which Ortom came into the party, he had no single control of the party’s structure and the people he came to the APC with were views by Akume’s loyalists as intruders.
The original founders of the APC, who came with Akume from the ACN, felt that they and their leader, the Senator, had invested time, energy and resources to secure the party and would not allow “an outsider to come and enjoy it.” Ortom and his followers were, therefore, completely at the mercy of Senator Akume.
The senator was even from grapevine hinted to have undermined the position of the governor as he had even made the governor appoint many of his loyalists into key juicy positions in the government.
Akume, before the cabinet reshuffle, was alleged to have controlled more than 60 per cent of Ortom’s commissioners and advisers.
Our correspondent gathered that Ortom had, because of lack of control of the party’s structure, quietly suffered the indignity of political affronts and personal insults thrown at him by the senator who recently was even alleged to have said he picked the governor from the gutter.
Knowing that the APC party’s structures were firmly in the hands of Akume, Ortom had to lie low meekly obey his leader.
The governor was also aware that Akume would never allow him the ticket to pursue his re-election under the platform of the APC.
Though this had been lingering since he took over mantle of leadership in state, considering his revered position as governor of the state and one who control the state resources Ortom had been biding his time as the state number one citizen waiting, quietly to prove his worth and power as governor.
In other words, Ortom was aware that the race for the ticket would be thrown open by Akume and the implications for him, who had no control of the party’s structure or enjoy Akume’s endorsement, would be disastrous.
Defeat was staring him in the face.
Ortom, with this reality staring in his face, started a romance with some of his friends whom he had left from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he defected to the APC.
The romance and realignment with political heavy weight in the state including Suswam, Senator Gemade; former Senate President David Mark; former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro; former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Sam Ode, among others, led to his final defection back to the PDP.
Back to the PDP, just a few days after he announced his return, the governor faced stiff opposition from governorship aspirants, and their supporters, who even went to Abuja and addressed press conferences rejecting his return to the party.
All the fight against the governor’s return by the PDP aspirants was in anticipation that he was coming to take over the party.
Weeks before the handing over of the party’s leadership of the state to Governor Ortom, rumours were rife in the state that the governor was passing through turbulence, because those who controlled the structures of the party were reluctant to release 60 per cent to him as part of the condition for his defection.
Another speculation was the alleged planned defection of governor Ortom to the Social Democratic Party SDP and former Governor Gabriel Suswam to the APC, if their terms and conditions were not met.
The situation created a lot of tension and factions in the party with divisions like Suswam PDP group, Ortom PDP Group, David Mark PDP Group, Gemade Group or David Mark Group.
This was because of the weight the governor returned with and it was obvious he would not demand less since he would finance the party.
Therefore, he was to leave no stone unturned to ensure that he controls a sizeable percentage of the structures in the party to easily pursue his second term ambition having tested the bitter pill given to him by Senator Akume while still in APC on which platform he was elected governor of Benue in 2015.
And so ahead of the politicking of 2019, the bid to control the party structures pitched most of the aspirants in the PDP against Ortom with some barely accommodating the governor.
The tension generated in the party over the issue made the governor to visit the national leadership of the PDP in Abuja seeking resolution of the matter.
The National Leadership of the party, led by Uche Secondus, therefore, directed the governor and stakeholders of the party in the state to come back and settle the matter locally.
The Monday meeting which attracted the PDP heavy of the state into the Government House was, therefore, the fallout of the Abuja meeting.
Though sources told Blueprint Weekend, that though other issues for the progress of the party in the state was also resolved, the handing over of the structures to the governor was top on the agenda.
Announcing the decision of the leaders at an expanded caucus meeting held at the new Banquet Hall of the Benue Government House, Makurdi, the state Chairman of the PDP, Sir John Ngbede, stated that with the handing over of leadership of the Benue PDP to Ortom, the party had been fused into one indivisible entity without factions.
He noted that the decision of the Benue PDP strong men will end weeks of speculations about 60/40, defection, among others that had created tension within the party’s ranks.
“We have been hearing rumours of defection, factions in the party, 60 per cent structures for Ortom, etc, but we have come together to move the party forward.
Whatever we are doing today is to make sure that the party wins the elections next year.
“For those of you who are here, I want you to take the news to party supporter who are not here about the decision of the party to harmonise the party structures.
After now, there is no more Ortom, PDP, Gemade PDP, David Mark PDP, or Suswam PDP,” he said.
Former Senate President, Senator David Mark, while speaking on the occasion, said the leaders had mandated the Governor to restructure the party in order to accommodate all interests, particularly those of the members who recently joined the party.
Senator Mark said it was also resolved that leaders and members of PDP must work in unity so as to win the forthcoming elections.
“We resolved to set Integration committee which, will work everyday and will go to villages to harmonise and reconcile those at the local levels.
What we have today is one PDP.
Everybody must partake in selecting of the three man delegate of the party in every council ward.
We want zoning of political positions to be done quickly.
“We want to win the election overwhelming so that nobody will be able to manipulate it.
The former Senate President commended leaders of the party in the state, most especially Senator Gemade who he said dragged him into the party.” Former Governor Gabriel Suswam announced that certain party positions, including the secretary, have been allocated to the Governor to accommodate his interest.
Governor Ortom, in his response, expressed appreciation to the leaders and the state executive committee of the PDP for the confidence reposed in him, and promised that he would not disappoint them.
He solicited support and assured the party that a level-playing ground would be provided for all aspirants.
Be it as it as it may the new harmonised PDP in Benue has made the party stronger and opened a fight against the now opposition APC in Benue led by Senator George Akume.
Pundits believe that part of the decision by the stakeholders to resolve their differences, and harmonised the party for a stronger PDP was to break dominance of Senator George Akume over the Benue politics.
Senator Akume, a two-term governor of the state, between 1999 and 2007, who is in his third term in the Senate, where he has been representing Benue northwest zone since 2007, has weighed significant influence in the Benue politic since he became governor in Benue.
He had fought people like the former PDP National chairman Senator Barnabas and Wantaregh Paul Unongo to became the political leader in Benue or at least in Tiv land.
He has been able to install governor, Gabriel Suswam in 2007 before they fell apart and he left the party.
Akume was able to regain his hold of the state and install Ortom when the now serving governor could not make it though the PDP primaries in 2014.
Though he has been able to flank serious influence in Benue, his numerous fights to remain on top of the political radar in the state has pitched him against many people a situation which now seems to be working against him.
He was said to be in the lead in the fight to remove Gemade as the then PDP National chairman.
Few years after Suswam became governor, fight ensued between him and his predecessor Akume due to alleged incessant demands by the later.
Akume was also alleged to be behind Ortom’s probe of former governor Suswam administration.
The Senator was also alleged to have fought Senator David Mark in 2007 when he discovered he (Mark) was also eyeing the position of Senate President, which he was aiming for.
His numerous fights against political leaders in the state to maintain control of political structures is viewed by many Benue people as what has constantly led to the underdevelopment of the state.
The Ortom’s red card saga and exit from the APC has now raised some issues in the contexts of the reasons earlier provided.
These provided the senator more political enemies, resulting to the exit of some of his political ally to exit from his camp.
With the situation now, unless there is change in political calculations in the state, with the teaming up of Benue heavy weights like, former Senate presidents.
Iyorchia Ayu and David Mark, former National PDP Chairman Senator Barnabas Gemade, former Governor Gabriel Suswam, former Minister of Interior Abba Moro, former Speaker pro tempo Terngu Tsegba, Senator JKN Waku among others, the Akume Dynasty is seriously threatened.
Clearly, the tunes in Benue politics are beginning to sound differently, with decorum seekers preferring to keep mute for now.
As it is, one thing is certain and that is the fact that Benue state is clearly a flashpoint ahead of 2019 polls.
