Benue youths force Governor Ortom to turn back on trip to Abuja and abandon APC for PDP

GOVERNOR Samuel Ortom of Benue State has finally dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  and joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after local youths threatened to kick him out of office if he did not.

In dramatic scenes, Governor Ortom was prevented by irate Benue youths from attending a meeting with the APC leaders in Abuja as they attacked his convoy. They threatening to vote him out if he insists on going to Abuja for the meeting and removed the APC flag on the governor's vehicle, asking him to go back to Government House in Makurdi.

Governor Ortom pleaded with the youths to allow him attend the meeting assuring them that their interest would be protected but they refused, insisting that the only option available to them was for the governor to make a u-turn. After returning to Makurdi, Governor Ortom met with local government councillors after which he announced he was leaving the APC and joining the PDP.

Last week Governor Ortom announced that he had been red-carded by the party and had become free to join another party of his choice. Days later, after meeting with Adams Oshiomole, the APC chairman, he made a U-turn, saying he was still in the party but this has not gone down well in Benue State.

Over recent years, Benue State has become a killing ground with Fulani cattle herdsmen attacking rural farming communities, killing hundreds. Governor Ortom has led calls for more security but his efforts have failed to end the killings, making the federal government very unpopular in Benue State.