By Aare Abiodun Oluwarotimi
Surely, the Benue State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP is experiencing a crisis at the moment but it is important to inform the public that the crisis is not all about the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Samuel Ortom PhD and his predecessor, Senator Gabriel Torwua Suswam PhD. I can swear on my life, they are talking very well. They are laughing at the much publicized imaginary fight.
The crisis is about their overzealous handlers who believe more in what they will benefit from the divided house. This is why they are blind not to know that both Ortom and Suswam aren’t fighting over who is the leader of the party in Benue because traditionally, the immediate past governor is the leader of the party until someone occupies the position of a governor or a seat bigger than that of a governor under the party.
Despite the above explanation, Senator Gabriel Suswam is also a leader in the PDP. In fact, one of its national leaders having being elected as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Both Ortom and Suswam are very peaceful persons. It will be hard for Chief Ortom to ask anyone to write critical things about his friend the same way I doubt it if Dr. Suswam can ever ask the likes of Overzealous Asawa Joe, Franc Utoo and Co to be attacking Chief Ortom in the media.
Asawa and his co-travellers did not only ruin their own political careers with their negative media outings against Ortom under whom they served, they also gave my boss, Senator Suswam out freely. Only God can forgive them for rubbing the face of innocent Suswam in the mud.
Senator Suswam’s handlers went very hard and negative to the extents that they were telling all sorts of lies against the administration of Chief Ortom. At some points, they even questioned the achievements of the administration under which more than 30 of them served in various positions both appointed and elected. Wasn’t that politics and bitterness taken too far?
Imagine Asawa that a lot of petitions of fraudulent activities were written against as chairman of Ushongo local government still talking ill about Ortom who saved him from being removed despite that he truly diverted public funds available to his local government when he served as chairman.
Asawa who had no single project to his credit is discrediting the administration of Samuel Ortom which excelled very well in the areas of infrastructures, education, health care, workers welfare, supports to the traditional institution, agriculture, investment, urban and rural development and above all, security of lives and properties despite the operations of fulani herdsmen who were backed by the Buhari-led administration. It is a shame on Asawa, Franc Utoo and co for bringing Suswam this down because the innocent man didn’t send them to do all they have been doing in the media.
I remember when the issue of the PDP national chairmanship issue first came up and I got a confirmation from Senator Suswam that he was interested, I immediately put a call across to Chief Ortom to know his position. And despite the rumoured fight between the two of them, the response which Chief Ortom gave me was very clear. He said and I quote: “Senator Suswam is my candidate and I will back him to achieve this. I have also started mobilizing for him and that is why you see my media people writing and campaigning for him on the social media. The people that are writing that we are fighting are just deceiving the public and by God’s, they will fail. For now, Suswam”s national chairmanship my project”
How can anyone in his right senses accuse this kind of man of working against Senator Suswam? The issue of 2023 election is clear. Ortom asked Atiku to identify with the people of Benue state who were being terrorised by his fulani brothers but he, Atiku, refused. Rather, Atiku went on air to profile the people of Benue as their own killers and this angered Ortom who had vowed to lay down his life and also his senatorial ambition if that would stop the Killings of his subjects. Apart from this, Chief Ortom was also fighting for equity. He believed the South should take over the Aso Villa after Buhari being a Northerner. What is Ortom’s fault here?
On the side of Senator Suswam, I have done my findings and discovered that he often queries his handlers each time they attack his friend, Ortom in the media. I know Senator Suswam very well, he will tell you he doesn’t want to join issues with anyone if you take anyone’s case to him. That is his person. A very peaceful man.
He is a peaceful man and I am sure he will be regretting having the likes of Asawa, Franc Utoo and co as his handlers. It was when they attacked Ortom to a point that a spontaneous reaction from the other camp began.
Like I said, Ortom and Suswam aren’t the problems of the PDP in Benue state but their overzealous handlers, and I expect both leaders to call these handlers to order especially in the camp of the former Senator because his men are clearly saying that they will not accept Chief Ortom as the leader of the party even though the laws are clear..
To be continued
I am Aare Abiodun Oluwarotimi, De Oracular Oracle that eats jollof rice in the shrine.