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Akume, Jime’s verbal attacks on Ortom is unfortunate, says aide

By Joseph Wantu, Makurdi
24 August 2019   |   3:38 am
Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor, Terver Akase has decried what he tagged “continous attack” of Governor Ortom by the duo of Senator George Akume (now a minister) and governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 election, Emmanuel Jime.

Governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 election, Emmanuel Jime

Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor, Terver Akase has decried what he tagged the “continous attack” of Governor Ortom by the duo of Senator George Akume (now a minister) and governorship candidate of the APC in the 2019 election, Emmanuel Jime.

Senator Akume, now the Minister for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, was at his reception in Abuja last Wednesday, quoted as saying that, he singlehandedly determined who became Governor of Benue State in 2015, castigating that it was not true for Governor Ortom for always claiming that God in His Holy Spirit made him governor.

Jime, on the other hand, was alleged to have referred to Ortom as an uneducated man alleging that the 2019 governorship election was rigged.

But in a sharp reaction to the comments credited to the two APC leaders through a statement made available to The Guardian yesterday in Makurdi, Ortom’s media aide decried the “unruly utterances coming from Akume and Jime when the people of the state expected them to pull ideas together for the progress of the state.

On Jime’s claim of a stolen governorship mandate, Akase advised the APC flagbearer for the 2019 election to use the on-going sitting of the governorship election tribunal to state his case rather than continue in vulgarity.

Akase said, “for a man who aspired to lead the state, Jime’s attacks on the person of the Governor was not only unfortunate but also smack of desperation and lack of respect for the same office he sought to occupy.”

He alleged that the Benue APC governorship candidate and his aides were caught with huge sums of money on the election day and some of the party’s supporters were also arrested in Ado local government area of the state over electoral offenses. 

He added: “It is therefore senseless for the party’s leaders to accuse Peoples Democratic Party, PDP of rigging.

“Benue people know that APC attempted to manipulate the 2019 election in the state but could not match the overwhelming resolve of the majority of the voters who said that Governor Ortom must return for a second term.”

However, Akase asserted that his boss was no longer interested in joining issues with Senator Akume, noting that the governor’s belief now was that “politics is over and it is time for governance.”

His words: “What Benue people expect at this time is that irrespective of party differences, leaders of the state should pull together ideas and resources to drive development.

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