A former state chairman of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, in Benue State and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Obande Obeya yesterday led over 2000 members of the party to cross carpet into the All Progressives Congress, APC, at Okpoga in Okpokwu local government area.
He urged the electorate to vote for the governorship candidate of the party, Chief Dr Samuel Ortom, and all the other candidates of the party at the forthcoming polls.
Chief Obande disclosed that he left the PDP because his advice was ignored by leaders of the party, workers and pensioners were being owed salaries and thrown into untold hardship while the leaders as well as their allies were feeding fat and living ostentatiously.
The former party chairman stated that as one of those who fought for the creation of Okpokwu local government area he had a duty to chart the proper direction for the people of the area hence his appeal to them to change their political direction.
Member of the APC board of trustees and former PDP national chairman, Chief Audu Ogbe, presented Chief Dr Ortom and his running mate, Engr Benson Abounu, at the rally describing them as an experienced and capable team that has the capacity to deliver and appealed to the people to vote for them.
He described the former Minister of State, Industry, Trade ,and Investment as an industrialist who has demonstrated the ability to industrialize the state by setting up his industries that have provided over 400 jobs to the people.
Chief Dr Ortom pledged to offer quality leadership based on the fear of God that would entrench core values that would give everyone in the state a sense of belonging and also engender development.
These he said would include transparency, accountability, justice, selflessness, forgiveness, reconciliation and unity.
The former Minister said he would tackle the challenge of critical infrastructure and seek to add value on all sectors but place emphasis on areas where the state has comparative and competitive advantages especially agriculture-driven industrialization, exploitation of solid minerals, tourism, small and medium scale enterprises as well as attraction of investment into the state.
Senatorial candidate of the party for Benue South senatorial district, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, criticized the Senate President, David Mark, for his inability to actualize the creation of Apa State which he has kept promising and also failing to execute several constituency projects provided for in the budget and appealed to the people to vote for him so that he would bring fresh ideas into the Senate for the benefit of the electorate.