PDP Replies APC over Call to Impeach Ortom for Tampering with Council Administration

George Okoh in Makurdi

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, took on the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State over its call on the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Samuel Ortom following allegation of tempering with the local government administration.

PDP, at a press conference addressed by its state Publicity Secretary, Mr Bemgba Iortyom, at the party’s headquarters in Makurdi, registered PDP’s growing concerns over the activities of APC as an opposition party in the state.

PDP said the crass inability of the opposition party to meet such elementary lawful requirements as fielding candidates for the 2023 elections was at the moment a matter pending before the courts. It also said APC’s serial gaffes on matters of state policy and administration, such as was done at a press conference it addressed in Makurdi calling for the impeachment of Governor Samuel Ortom over what it termed mismanagement of the local government tier of administration in the state, needs making a few observations on.

“For starters, Governor Samuel Ortom does not run the local government administrations in Benue State, rather, the executive arm of the state government under his leadership only exercises oversight on that tier of government through clear cut constitutional provisions, which do not include constituting councils and inaugurating them.

“Local government council chairmen are vested with such responsibility, and if in the course of exercising this, they have inaugurated the vice chairmen, which is a fact against the lie by APC that they have not been inaugurated, but have encountered delays for a period of less than two months, which we are aware is for purpose of consensus building and harmony within the system, it should be understandable, especially, to a party like APC under which control it took President Buhari over half a year to pick a cabinet composed of recycled politicians.

“It is the assurances from PDP as the sponsoring platform for those local government administrations as well as the Ortom administration that the right thing is being done at those councils as we are aware no council chairman has so far acted outside of their lawful powers, even as they have so very early shown through decisive steps that they will consolidate on the achievements of their predecessors and thereby continue on the trajectory of improvement of governance at that tier, even as we equally assure that the legislative arms of government at that level will within the shortest possible time be inaugurated.”