Benue 2023: PDP replies Akume, promises to retire him, others

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has promised to retire the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state at the 2023 elections.

This promise was made through a statement on Friday, by Bemgba Iortyom, the State Publicity Secretary of PDP, in response to utterances made by Akume and APC stakeholders at a retreat for the party’s governorship aspirants that they will issue red cards to the PDP at the coming polls.

Akume and others had issued a red card to Ortom and PDP, vowing to send them packing from the government House, come 2023.

“We recall that Akume is in love with red cards and had in 2018 flashed one at Governor Samuel Ortom while they were together in APC, but the attendant result was disastrous as the governor left the party and went back home to PDP from where he issued a ‘Redder Card’ to Akume retiring him from elective political office.

“Our great party notes that being one with a poor sense of history, Akume is again repeating the same mistake he made in 2018 talking about issuing a red card to Governor Ortom and PDP.

“PDP assures that this time too the consequences will be the same, only more disastrous as our great party in 2023 will largely be going into the APC camp to help bury casualties from the bloody civil war which has commenced there over the party’s governorship ticket.

“With Guber aspirants who are much more powerful and influential than the politically weakened Benue APC leader, the stage is set for an internal schism in that party as will surely lead to its implosion”, the statement said.

Benue PDP, in a sporting spirit, also advised APC to, rather than continue making “empty noise”, be humble and understudy the internal processes adopted by the umbrella party which have engendered stability, harmony and success from one election year to another since 1999.