PDP fires back at APC for attacking Ortom over proposed Benue Airport project, others

The fireworks between the Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), over their many political differences is far from abating, as the PDP has fired back at the APC over its attack on the state governor, Samuel Ortom, over his proposal in the 2020 Budgetary Estimates to build an airport in the state as presented before the State House of Assembly recently.

The APC had said they were astounded with the declaration by the governor that he would convert the Benue Cargo Airport and build another airport in two years.

The party stressed that they were “deeply worried at the spontaneous nature with which the PDP administration in the state emotionally declares serious policy statements with gusto, yet, fails to execute any without compunction.”

However, responding to the attack, the PDP said it acknowledges that the opposition party has a perfect right to hold an opinion about the policies and actions of the administration of Gov. Samuel Ortom.

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The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, in a statement said, the validity or otherwise of such views must still be measured against the majority opinion of the Benue people who are and will always be the ultimate targeted beneficiaries of any policy and action of the administration.

According to him, “Benue PDP gladly accepts that the incumbent Ortom administration is a ‘PDP administration’, as described by APC, and that as the sponsoring platform, the party must take the credit or discredit accruing from the administration’s actions.

“But by the same token of responsibility, PDP reminds APC that the same Cargo Airport project which they today lampoon the Ortom administration over was conceived, and initiated under their watch as the sponsoring political platform of the administration then.

“If they had guided the administration right the project would not have ended up a “white elephant project” like they now seek to derogatorily label it.

“It is, therefore, either a reflection of hypocrisy or lack of depth of thought, or a combination of both, for the opposition party to now seek to occupy the chair of the critic over that same project.”

Describing the reason of the APC as shallow, the PDP said, “It is similarly shallow of the opposition party not to factor it that the declaration of the proposed airport project made by His Excellency, Gov. Ortom, is still a part of the proposals contained in the budgetary estimates which he submitted before the state’s legislature for consideration and final approval.

 “In line with the tenets of democracy, rather than take to the media waves making baseless noise, APC ought to mobilise their members in the state legislature where the airport project is up for consideration and raise their objections to the project through them.

“The validity or otherwise of their views or those of any other person or group concerning the proposed project can only be determined by the state legislature which as a representative assembly aggregates the approval or disapproval, as the case may be, of Benue people to any proposed policy or action of government.”

While also accusing the APC of the being sincere in its criticisms of the Ortom’s administration, the PDP added, “In the same statement, Benue APC claimed that His Excellency, Gov. Ortom, is the “governor with the highest number of non fulfilled promises” and cited the non completion of the Origbo-Imamde-Akpu-Gbajimba Road in evidence.

“Yet, even to the most lay of observation, non completion of the said road project and other ongoing projects cannot rationally be viewed to connote non performance on the part of the Ortom administration since there are other road projects which have been completed while others are at various stages of progress.

“The Ahmadu Bello Way in Gboko, Igbor-Ikpa-Wannune Road, the Mobile Barracks Road in Makurdi, the Och’Idoma Road in Otukpo among several other roads projects at various stages of completion and ongoing works are proof of the focus of the Ortom administration on the provision of critical infrastructure to the people of Benue State.

“Benue APC also claimed that the governor has taken governance to ridiculous levels by attending to courtesy calls and other social events, and here the paucity of thought is even more glaring as this cannot possibly be the case.

“Since assumption of office to a second tenure, His Excellency, Gov. Samuel Ortom has been performing critical actions of government at a regular pace, and these have included appointment and inauguration of governmental structures in the various arms and tiers of administration in the state.

“The administration has during the same period undertaken the execution of critical infrastructural works which are ongoing as well as rural electrification projects across the state,” the statement added.