Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has said that the worst military regime in the country is better than the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
Ortom made the remark, yesterday, while fielding questions from newsmen at the Makurdi Airport on his return from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention in Abuja.
According to the governor, the outcome of the PDP convention on Saturday, October 30, is a clear indication that the party has positioned itself to take over leadership of the country in 2023. He alleged that the APC administration failed in all its promises to Nigerians.
His words: “I have been privileged to read the history of Nigeria, and those that have been destroying us included the military. Before, we used to say that the worst democratic government is better than the best military government. But for the purpose of APC-led government, I say that the worst military government we have had in Nigeria is better than this particular government led by APC.”
He lamented that any attempt to say the truth or advise the APC government was interpreted as attack. “Is it not democracy we are practising?” he wondered.
Ortom lauded his colleagues (other governors) for their resilience to forge ahead despite all intimidation and blackmail by the APC government to achieve more than 90 per cent consensus in electing new leaders for the party.
CHIEFTAIN of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has said the internal crisis rocking the Kwara State chapter of the party will soon be settled and enjoined feuding parties to sheathe their swords in the larger interest of the people of the state.
The former presidential candidate reiterated that the gains that came with the liberation of Kwara in the 2015 election would never be reversed, despite the current schism in the state.
Olawepo-Hashim, during his visit to the Kwara governor, Abdulraham Abdulrazaq, yesterday, maintained that the liberation of Kwara took several decades and inflicted several battle scars on the participants. He added that the no matter the level of disagreement among the stakeholders, Kwara must not be allowed to go back to slavery and socio-political emasculation that arrested the progress of the state for many years.
The founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) extolled the governor’s policy of giving political space to youths and women, while commending his efforts to restore the dignity of the state in the areas of education, infrastructure and human capital development.
In his response, the governor recalled that the efforts to reposition the state had been challenging. “We met a state that has literally collapsed in every sector.” He also promised to continue in his resolve to reposition the state to work for the larger interest of the people.
