When the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom won his election in 2015 on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), the good people of Benue State were extremely excited that he would bring the desired change.
One year after his swearing-in on May 29, 2015, the Benue people were yet to see the desired change they expected. But Ortom claimed that Dist. Sen. Dr. George Akume was making him not to work effectively for the Benue people. He claimed that APC and Akume were supporting Fulani herdsmen and therefore silent over the killings.
In 2018, he defected to the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) with the reason that he refused to surrender Benue to Fulani and Akume.
The Benue people believed Ortom that he failed to deliver because of Akume and voted for him in 2019 election which he won on the platform of PDP.
As a result, the people of Benue North-West Senatorial District (Zone B) voted against Akume who lost his senatorial election. Ortom claimed he retired Akume from politics.
Ortom shot himself in the foot by failing to perform even after becoming a governor without a godfather. His abysmal and amorphous governance paved way for the emergence of Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia as the gubernatorial candidate on the platform of APC.
When Ortom defected to PDP and after the 2019 general elections, it was as if APC was dead in Benue State because PDP won over 90% of elective positions.
Ortom had the opportunity to bury APC and Akume in Benue but felt Fulani herdsmen propaganda was enough to help him sustain his hold on the Benue people not knowing that he was digging his downfall and that of PDP.
If Ortom had cleared the backlog of salaries and pensions, if he had made payment of salary regular, if he had paid Benue Students their yearly allowance, if he had given Benue civil servants promotion as when due, if he had given employment to Benue people and if he had carried out life changing projects across Benue State, nobody would want to hear the name of APC or Akume again, the Benue people and others would have believed Ortom that truly APC and Akume were retarding his government.
If Ortom had done all these, even Fr. Alia wouldn't have agreed to contest for governor of Benue State no matter the persuasion because he would have supported the good work of Ortom and sees no reason to stand against him.
The defeat PDP has faced in Benue State in the general elections that took place on Saturday 25th February 2023 and the likely defeat that will also be faced on 11th March 2023 is because of Ortom's maladministration.
His bad governance has cost him his senatorial election and many PDP candidates in Benue State.
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