January 17, (THEWILL) – Angry members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State, Senator George Akume’s kinsmen, have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing APC in the area as a ‘one man show’.
Last Monday, the irate defectors in their hundreds, at the PDP gubernatorial rally held at Wannune, alleged that senator Akume, now the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs is running the APC as a family business at the detriment of others over the years.
The leader of the decampees, Mr Dennis Tser, aka Baba Denny, on behalf of others, expressed their tiredness, being on an unrewarding side of the political divide, where only senator Akume and his inner family benefit, while other people continue to suffer and watch on the sideline of the political game.
The former APC chieftain pointed out that senator Akume made his wife, Regina, House of Representatives candidate of the APC for Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency after his younger distant relation was favoured by the majority of APC faithful in the area for the ticket.
The decampees later surrendered their APC membership cards, as well as brooms to the leadership of PDP, during which they were received into the party and promised equal opportunities.
In his remarks, senator Emmanuel Orker Jev of Benue North West, said he left the APC when he discovered that it was not practising internal democracy and won a Senate seat on the platform of the PDP, assuring that the people of the district will work for Titus Uba and other candidates to win the next month’s general elections.
In their separate speeches, senator Gabriel Suswam and governor Samuel Ortom commended the people of the area for abandoning APC for PDP to seek freedom and advised them to work hard for the victory of PDP candidates to leap dividends of democracy.
Governor Ortom, who gave his administration a pass mark in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and security, among other sectors of the economy, promised an effective representation if voted into the senate to represent Benue North West.
On her part, the chairman of Benue State Internal Revenue Service, Mrs Mimi Orubibi Adzape, explained that even though she contested the 2019 senate seat under APC, she decided to abandon the party for PDP due to high-handedness and lack of internal democratic posture there.
She expressed the hope that if the turnout for the governorship campaign rally is anything to go by, the people of Tarka will ensure victory for all PDP candidates in the area next month.
The PDP gubernatorial candidate, Engr. Titus Uba, who was presented to the people, promised to consolidate and build on the legacy of the Ortom administration when voted into power next month.
The Acting state chairman of PDP in Benue state, Mr Isaac Mfo, called on the people of Tarka to do the needful at the polls.
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