Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has expressed confidence that the maturity and unity of purpose exhibited by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the just concluded national convention is a pointer that the party has overcome its challenges and is poised to rescue Nigeria from bad governance come 2023.
The Governor disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Makurdi Airport on his return from Abuja after a successful PDP National Convention.
Governor Ortom maintained that Nigeria being a country of diverse ethnicity and religion can develop only when there is unity but the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration has divided the country along ethnic and religious lines, thereby making the administration the worst in the history of the country.
The Governor expressed confidence in the leadership qualities of the newly elected PDP executives and commended the leadership of the party for coming to a consensus in choosing all the party officials, noting that moving into 2023 with such unity of purpose, the party will emerge victorious at all levels.
Reacting to insinuations in the media that he has shifted grounds on the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, NLTP, Governor Ortom maintained that Benue State Government under his watch will not accept any coinage no matter how flamboyant the presidency twists such idea other than ranching.
“The National Livestock Transformation Program (NLTP) was embraced by National Economic Council (NEC), which has the 36 state governors as members and it was agreed after series of meetings that States are at liberty to adopt and implement aspects of the plan that suit their peculiarities, for us in Benue it is ranching and nothing more”
“For us in Benue State, our peculiarities are that we have a ranching law and in the area of livestock farming, our competitive advantages include indigenous cattle, piggery, goats and fisheries etc. All these have been captured in the Plan and Benue State has accepted the implementation of the Plan based on these conditions” Governor Ortom maintained.
On the recent garnishee order of state accounts by an Abuja High Court, the Governor described the action as one of the challenges of governance, adding that despite the case being appealed, the court granted the order but assured that the state will overcome the challenge.