By Ayobami Olasehinde (Lagos) and Atondo Titus (Makurdi)
Despite the apology by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the management if Nigerian Airfirce (NAF), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the denial of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom from entrance into NAF Base to welcome the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as an act of desperate politicians.
The party also noted that the government led by All Progressive Congress (APC) is “brash in thoughts and uncoordinated.”
This statement came on the heels of the report that Governor Ortom had been denied entrance into Airforce after he was duly invited to welcome the Vice President.
While speaking with our correspondents yesterday, Mr. Debo Ologunagba said, “The act of a desperate government. And I’m happy that it is failing. They do anything (to) embarrassing themselves and disgracing their citizen.”
He said his party, “Don’t just talk anyhow. We consider the issue before we make comment. We don’t act on impulse because the APC act on impulse. They work on impulse because when you don’t have any function every little thing will upset you.
“In terms of Governorship, Ortom is always a thorn in the flesh of APC. For us we don’t really want to react to that. They are a disorganised set of human beings, very brash in their thoughts and uncoordinated.
“Sometimes, we wonder what type of character they have in that party. We don’t want to waste our time on that. We want to focus on the issue.
“We don’t want distraction, we want them to sign electoral act amendment bill, that’s the basis of democracy.”
When asked whether the act was a reprisal on Ortom over his relentless scathing comments of federal government, he maintained that, “The APC is always very reactionary because it is a reactionary party. They can never be organised. They will always react to anything.
“For me, if you call it a reprisal, what are the reprisals for? Against the truth? We don’t want to give them unnecessary premium on this issue, we want to focus on big issues. It is embarrassing that they did that. It shows that it is a party that has no decorum and value.
“It’s a disgrace to democracy and a disgrace to the government and civility. They are not used to that anyways. They are a bunch of uncivil human beings that are crude and reactionary and that’s what we are seeing.
“Nigerians are tired of them, we can’t wait enough to get them out of the scene because they are people that have no value and decency.
“Governor Ortom was formerly invited for the event and because the office of the Vice President is such revered office in the sense of political party and constitution.
“The impunity is what they deal with. We are not surprised because we don’t want to focus on the issue, the act of the APC is like a drowning man that will hold on to any straw. APC is a drowning party that can hold on to anything.”
Meanwhile, Samuel Ortom has condemned in its entirety the action of the security personnel that denied him entrance into the Nigeria Air Force Base in Makurdi, Benue State.
Ortom condemned the action of the security operatives at the gate of the NAF base while fielding questions from Journalists shortly after being denied entrance at the gate of the Nigeria Air Force base by security personnel on his way to receive the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
According to the Governor, the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo was on his way to Wukuri, Taraba State enroute Benue to attend the convocation of the Federal University, Wukari.
He described the action by the security personnel as unacceptable, breach of protocol and politics taken too far.
He expressed regret that he had set out to attend the burial of Professor Ignatius Ayua but had to delegate his deputy in order to receive the Vice President when he received a communication via a letter from the presidency intimating the governor of the Vice President’s transit visit.
The letter addressed to the Governor from the State House Abuja was dated 10th February, 2022 with reference VP/SP/DOP/26 and titled: “Visit of His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria to Wukari, Taraba State transiting NAF Base, Makurdi, on Saturday, 12th February, 2022.”
The letter which was signed by Ambassador Abdullahi Qwary said the Vice President would return through the same route in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, on getting to the main gate of the airforce, security personnel at the entrance said the governor’s convoy won’t be allowed in because according to them, they were not informed about the Governor’s visit to the base to receive the Vice President.
The Governor wondered why he should be treated like that by the NAF personnel in the state where he is the Chief Security Officer of the state.
He vowed to report the matter to the Vice President for necessary action and stressed that there should be a clear difference between politics and governance.
The letter informing Governor Ortom of Vice president Osinbanjo’s journey to Wukari, Taraba State through Makurdi.