Gov. Ortom denies rumours of fighting in the PDP and criticises the APC

Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, denied rumours of strife inside the People’s Democratic Party on Thursday (PDP).

The governor was responding to reports of squabbling among some PDP officials and members over the choice of the governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.

Ortom, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, described as false, the argument that the centre was no longer holding in the party.

He said: “The argument that the centre is no longer holding in PDP is false. Politics is a game of dialogue, understanding and coming to agreement when there are conflicts. Generally politics is a game of conflict management. And that is what we are trying to do here. Above all, it’s a game of interests.

“You have a lot of people with diverse interests and the capacity to agree and come together is what is needed. And I think that’s what is happening in PDP. It’s not beyond us yet because we can see through understanding, dialogue, negotiation and others, people would come to the round table and agree on the way forward.”

The governor also decried the security situation in Nigeria and accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of mismanaging the country’s unity and diversity.

He added: “There is no denying that Nigeria today is so bad that nobody would want a repeat of the APC in power. Nigerians are looking for alternatives. I’m a grassroots politician, we have worked with the people and seen that they are pained with the security situation, the economic problem and social problems.

“We are all enslaved by the bad policies of the APC government. So we in PDP intend to go to the roots of the problem, rescue our country, rebuild it and make things work.”