Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue State, has made the claim that Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is attempting to intimidate and blackmail him.
He stated that Ayu was launching a defamation campaign against him because he is one of the individuals calling for the PDP Chairman’s removal or resignation.
According to Akahi News, the G-5 PDP Governors, led by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, have requested Ayu’s resignation in order to support the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
During a meeting on Sunday with Ayu’s relatives, the Jemgbagh PDP Elders Forum, which includes leaders from Gboko, Tarka, and Buruku Local Government Areas, the governor dispelled rumors that he was removing a Jemgbagh son.
Despite all odds, Ortom, who wants to run for Senate in 2023, claims that he actually rallied support for Senator Ayu’s election as national chairman.
Governor Ortom called on Dr. Ayu, who is from the same senatorial zone as him, to resign because he had become the target of intimidation and blackmail by Jemgbagh stakeholders because he was running for the Benue North-West Senatorial district seat.
He stated, “God gives power, and because I want to be a senator, no one should try to bribe me.Because of the senate election, no one ought to believe that he will try to intimidate me.No amount of extortion or intimidation can stop me from winning if God chooses me to be elected Senator for the Benue North-West Senatorial Zone.
According to Ortom, following the PDP presidential primary, he advised Ayu to contact the party’s unhappy leaders and ask for their understanding regarding calls for his resignation.
He stated, “But instead of taking my counsel, he chose to take the path of disuniting the party by his actions and utterances.”
The Benue Governor claims that the National Chairman failed to act impartially during the PDP national convention, which resulted in Alhaji Atiku Abubakar becoming the party’s presidential candidate.
He emphasized that Ayu had made a promise to resign if a northern candidate for president emerged at the party’s northern caucus meeting at the Bauchi State lodge.
The governor was puzzled as to why the PDP national chairman had broken the promise he had made to all of the party’s northern leaders.
He instructed the stakeholders involved in Jemgbagh to also invite him and Senator Ayu to a meeting so that they could both present their perspectives on the issue.