Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, is not one of those Governors who lack character.
The Rivers Governor stated this while dispelling rumours that Ortom was plotting to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike, who was in Benue State to commission road projects completed by Ortom’s administration in Makurdi and Guma LGA respectively, said that they (both governors) will not relent, insisting that, “nobody can tie us. We will speak when it is necessary.”
He said: “One of the reasons I came today is to dispel the rumours that Ortom is going back. We will continue to stand together though we might be denied what is due us and intimidated but it will come to an end.
“Today in this country, there is total insecurity, and people are saying Governor Ortom is going back to a party where he nearly died. No man digs his own grave. God brought him out of the wilderness and some people are saying that he is coming back. Coming back to where?” he asked.
He commended Ortom for being a man of strong will, stressing that the Benue governor is not one to shy away from the truth.
“If you don’t say the truth you will die if you say the truth you will die. So it is better to say the truth and die,” he said.
“Governor Ortom stood firm when his people were being killed. The major objective of governance is the protection of lives and property.
“If you cannot protect the lives and property of your people, your governance is zero. Because if you provide infrastructure there must be humans to use it.”
EFCC
Wike further stated that all those running away from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will eventually visit the anti-graft agency, just as those who are not afraid will also go to the commission.
He stated also that what Ortom passed through politically was known to everyone and that his coming to support him (Ortom) was because he cannot stand injustice.
“I have been to Benue before. But what I have seen today is unprecedented. I keep asking him if it was from the sale of yam that he is doing this. You are a Governor who relates well with his people,” Wike added.
