Lawani had in a recent interview,
claimed that the party chased Ortom away for his alleged poor performance.
Responding to Lawani’s assertion,
Tahav Argezua, Special Adviser to the governor on Media and ICT, wondered why
Lawani, who once passed a vote of confidence on Ortom was now faulting the
governor’s performance.
Argezua advised Lawani to rather
tell the people of Benue South what he had done to deserve their vote rather
than resorting to cheap blackmail.
He said, “The former Deputy
Governor of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani, veered off course in an interview
he granted to Sunday Vanguard of August 12, 2018.
“Instead of concentrating on
telling his constituents in the Benue South Senatorial district his
qualifications for the seat and the agenda he would pursue if elected, he
digressed by saying that the All Progressives Congress, APC, forced Governor
Ortom out on account of poor performance.
“Of course, by bashing Governor
Ortom, Chief Lawani hopes to impress the owner of the party in the state in the
hope that he would be given the platform to run on a platter of gold.
“Otherwise, what the former
Deputy Governor ought to do at the moment is to seek to impress his
constituents about how he discharged the eight-year mandate the people of the
state gave him to their benefit.
“He should also be listing his
legislative agenda rather than casting aspersions on the Governor.
“The statement he made about why
Governor Ortom defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rather
exposed him to ridicule as someone bending backwards to curry favour.
‘We recall how Chief Lawani showered
praises on Governor Ortom at different times regarding his performance in
office. The former Deputy Governor was specific in his speech in Otukpo during
the campaign for the 2016 Benue South re-run senatorial election that he and
others had decided to join the APC because of the laudable performance of the
Governor.
‘We hope that Chief Lawani still
remembers that the APC had passed numerous votes of confidence on Governor
Ortom and that it adopted him as its sole governorship candidate for 2019 at
its last state Congress.
‘He might still remember that he,
as a major stakeholder in the party, was not allowed to make any input in the
list of ward, local government, and state executive committees of the party in
the state.
“It was this kind of impunity and
hijacking of the party structure in the state by one individual that forced
Governor Ortom and several others including State and National Assembly members
as well as local government chairmen and councilors to defect to the PDP.
“On the Benue killings, it is
true that they started before the Buhari administration but Nigerians recall
his role as patron of Miyetti Allah, particularly his visit to Oyo State and
what he said there, before he became President. This indicated that he has been
party to the herdsmen’s activities for a long time.
“Benue people know that the
failure of security agencies under President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest and
prosecute the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other Fulani groups
who threatened to invade Benue State and were duly reported and thereafter,
carried out the threats cannot exonerate him from personal and official blame.
“Moreso, the utterances of the
President’s Ministers of Internal Affairs and Defence, the Inspector General of
Police, the Chief of Army Staff, as well as Presidential Spokesman on the
invasion and killings are strong enough proof of complicity on the part of the
Federal Government.
“Chief Lawani has the choice to
align with anyone, even if such persons have shown clearly that they do not
have the interest of the Benue people at heart.
“For Governor Ortom however, the
interests, aspirations and expectations of the Benue people remain his
paramount driving force.”
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