The Guardian (Nigeria)

Sell your agenda, not why I left ruling party, Ortom tells Lawani

APC eroded 19 years democratic gains, says Fayose 1,100 members defect to PDP in Edo State

- From Joseph Wantu (Makurdi), Ayodele Afolabi (Ado-ekiti) and Michael Egbejule (Benin City)

Aformer Benue State Deputy Governor and senatorial aspirant, Steven Lawani, has been urged to sell his qualificat­ions and agenda rather than dwell on why Governor Samuel Ortom left the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC). Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Media and Informatio­n and Communicat­ion Technology (ICT), Tahav Agerzua, gave the charge in a statement yesterday while reacting to an interview Lawani granted in one of the national dailies.

His words: “Of course, by bashing Ortom, he (Lawani) hopes to impress the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC) in the state hoping that he would be given the platform to run on a platter of gold.

“Otherwise, what Lawani ought to do at the moment is to seek to impress his constituen­ts on how he dis- charged the eight-year mandate they gave him to their benefit. He should also be listing his legislativ­e agenda rather than casting aspersions on Governor Ortom.”

Agerzua maintained that the statement credited to Lawani about why Governor Ortom defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has exposed him (Lawani) to ridicule as someone bending backwards to curry favours from the leadership of the APC. He reminded Lawani of how he had showered praises on Ortom at different times regarding his (Ortom’s) performanc­e in office.

In another developmen­t, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, yesterday said God will intervene in the country’s leadership, saying the nation was on the precipice and could disintegra­te. He blamed the situation on the APC, adding that since the party came to power in 2015, it has eroded the democratic gains made since the democratic dispensati­on in 1999.

Fayose stated this in AdoEkiti during a meeting with PDP aspirants for the House of Representa­tives and state House of Assembly elections.

He also expressed displeasur­e at the level of desperatio­n, intimidati­on and harassment being meted out to the opposition by the APC.

Meanwhile, the Edo State chapter of the PDP at the weekend received no fewer than 1,100 members of the APC in Etsako Central Local Council of the state.

State Chairman of the PDP, Dan Orbih, who addressed the defectors during a rally at Oghomere Ekperi in the council area, said it was an uncommon honour for the party to welcome over 1,100 members and leaders of the ruling party in the area.

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