Senatorial Bid: Ortom Withdraws Case From Tribunal, Seeks Forgiveness
The case that Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom brought at the Election Petitions Tribunal against the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Titus Zam, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission has been withdrawn. (INEC).
As he served the state and the nation, the governor apologized to anyone he may have offended and said, “I seek your forgiveness, as I have also forgiven those who have offended me.”
During the February 25th presidential and National Assembly elections, which he competed in to represent the Benue North West senatorial district, Ortom claimed voter intimidation and the failure to transmit votes electronically encouraged rigging.
Prior to the governor’s defection to the PDP in 2018, Ortom’s special adviser on local government and chieftaincy matters, Zam, defeated him in the race for the Senate.
Zam received 143,151 ballots, defeating Ortom’s 106,882 votes.
The governor explained that he took the decision to withdraw his case from the court in the interest of peace after meeting with Zone B stakeholders and his campaign team. He added that the withdrawal has no bearing on the lawsuits brought by the other PDP candidates.
As the PDP’s leader, he declared, “I will continue to support the party in cooperation with other leaders to allow it to recover from the errors and setbacks that are currently affecting it.
He stated, “Even though there was obvious proof of malpractices during the conduct of the Benue North West Senatorial election, including non-transmission of results electronically, I have decided to withdraw my case from the tribunal. A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him directly from heaven, the Bible states in John 3:27.
Let me tell the residents of Benue State that I will continue to serve sacrificially in all areas of development until the conclusion of my term on May 29, 2023. I ask for forgiveness from anyone I may have hurt while serving the state and my nation as I also ask for forgiveness from those who have hurt me.
The governor specifically thanked the PDP in the state for its support, saying, “It has been an honor to serve the people of the state as governor. I applaud the Benue electorate for their tenacity during the elections despite the blatant provocation and intimidation by the federal might. I have carried out the mandate that God the Almighty gave me through the Benue people during this time, and I will always be available and prepared to carry out God’s mandate as He instructs me. I have always upheld equity, fairness, justice, and the rule of law while representing the state.
I will always be grateful to Almighty God and the people of Benue State as a prominent political figure in that state with a career spanning more than 40 years. During that time, I rose to become a local government chairman, state secretary, state deputy chairman, national auditor of the PDP, minister of the Federal Republic, and now I am a two-term governor. I’ve reached these heights because of God’s mercy and benefits, Ortom said.
