26th December, 2022
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has openly thrown his weight behind the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Ortom, who received Obi at the Government House on Sunday, praised the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for visiting the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with them.
He described Obi as the best person who can solve Nigeria’s socioeconomic problems.
Ortom said, “Several presidential candidates have come here, and none of them has chosen to visit those IDPs camps and look at their plight to see how they are doing and give them hope that when they win, they will bring them succour, help, and hope.
“For you to have chosen to visit the IDPs on a Christmas Day that you should be celebrating with your family, for me as a Christian, I say God will bless you and your aspirations. My prayer is that God will bless your aspiration to be the president of this country.
“Because I have seen capacity, faith, and hope, and I have seen someone who can bring the required equity, justice, and fairness that I have been pursuing since I became governor in 2015. If I were not in PDP, I would have been following you all over the place to canvass and vote for you.”
“But because I’m in PDP, I’m telling Nigerians that this man can help deliver this country from its challenges,” he stated.
Ortom, at another event on Sunday, also charged Nigerians to arm themselves with their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to enable them to vote for credible leaders in the 2023 general elections.
He backed the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the technology that will be used for the accreditation and authentication of voters come 2023.
Ortom stated that the country was going through pains, hardship, and economic and security woes because those who were elected to lead the country at various levels have failed to leave up to their responsibility.
“The 2023 election is the only opportunity we have. So those who are yet to collect their PVCs, please, I beg you in the name of God to do so because that is the only way you can exercise your franchise and restore hope and dignity to our country by electing leaders that have been tested and trusted who you can rely on and work with,” the governor said.
Ortom said, “One vote can make a difference. So if you want a change that will bring dignity and restoration to our country and promote economic development and add value to the development of humanity and restore security, that vote will count.”
He encouraged the people to ensure that they participate in the forthcoming elections, saying, “This time, there is no snatching of ballot boxes because it will not be there for anybody to snatch. BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) will make a difference. And so your physical presence and participation is very important.”