The drama continues today as breaking news emanating from Benue State confirms the defection of the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom from the All Progressives Congress, APC to the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
The governor announced his defection during a meeting with elected local government chairmen and councillors on Wednesday at the Government House Makurdi.
This announcement comes hours after mass defections of APC senators and lawmakers yesterday to the PDP on the floor of the National Assembly amidst drama and intrigue.
Read: I Wish You Well – Buhari to Defected APC Lawmakers
The APC had gone into crisis management mode by arranging reconciliation meetings between party executives and other aggrieved members who were likely to also leave the party.
The Benue State House of Assembly had also impeached its speaker and replaced him with a new speaker from the PDP; 22 APC lawmakers in the state also defected to the PDP on Tuesday while the Governor sacked about 80% of his cabinet members.
In a dramatic twist of events on Wednesday, Protesting Benue youths had blocked the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom from leaving the state for Abuja to attend the APC reconciliation meeting billed for Wednesday.
The announcement brings to an end months of speculation that the governor will return to the PDP as a result of his disagreement with leaders of the APC in Benue and at the national level.
His defection follows major political decisions in the state over the last three weeks, all of which had fuelled the speculations of his exit.
Benue State indigenes had been angry at the Governor’s membership of the APC stating that the state has not benefitted from the party being in charge at the centre.
Benue has been awash with innocent blood as Fulani herdsmen murder innocent farmers and villagers in their sleep and have taken over about 51 communities in the state.
Benue indigents have accused the APC led government of President Buhari of doing nothing to stop the carnage, an accusation the federal government has repeatedly denied.
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