A coalition of Benue youths comprising of over forty groups Wednesday prevented Governor Samuel Ortom from attending a scheduled meeting with the All Progressives Congress, APC, National leadership in Abuja.
The Governor was leaving Government House, Makurdi for the trip when the youths in their numbers blocked his route with placards.
They carried placards which read “Ortom don’t go back to APC,” “We don’t have land to donate for ranching,” “APC is Miyetti party,” Our farms are not for cows,” You must leave APC,” Ortom is our party, ” and “2019: On Ortom we stand.”
It was reported that the spokesmen of the coalition, Terrence Kuanum, and Pastor Dave Ogbole advised the Governor not to make the trip for further discussions with the APC leadership on his membership of the party but to rather look for an alternative platform.
They threatened that if he attended the meeting they would vote him out in 2019.
To underscore their anger, they ordered that the APC flag should be removed from the Governor’s official car immediately and the Governor’s driver complied.
The governor pleaded with the youths to allow him attend the meeting, assuring that their interest would be protected, but the youths refused, insisting that the only option available to him was for the Governor to make a u turn.
He finally turned back with his entourage when all pleas fell on deaf ears.
An eyewitness, Nelson Ogbu, said that “The youths angrily removed the APC flag on the Governor’s vehicle and asked him to go back to Government House, threatening to vote him out if he insists on going to Abuja for the meeting. But the youths, however, refused, insisting that, the only option available to them was for the Governor to make a u turn.”
At the time of this report, it could not be ascertain whether he later embarked on the trip.
