You’re at liberty not to attend stakeholders meeting – Benue govt tells APC

The Benue State Government has faulted a statement issued by the state chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC in which the party said it will no longer take part in stakeholders meetings organized by the State Government.

The state said Governor Samuel Ortom has no problems with the decision of the party to stay away from government events.

Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor, in a statement on Sunday, recalled that when the Governor took the mantle of leadership, he promised to be the Governor of every Benue person who will at all times make them part of policy formulation, decisions and programmes of government. He has kept that promise in the last six years.

The statement reads below.

Whenever the Governor is to meet with stakeholders to deliberate on critical issues of governance, all segments of the state including political parties are invited.

If APC in Benue State has great ideas to help the state to grow, as it claims, the stakeholders meeting offers the party ample opportunity to present its “good ideas” for the benefit of the state.

The sentiment they raised on the proposed privatization of government owned enterprises is a jaundiced argument.

Benue is one of the very few states still keeping moribund companies in an era when the private sector is driving industrialization across the country and the rest of the world. Only recently, Cross River State put up over 40 state-owned industries for privatization. That’s an APC controlled state.

The absence of the party from the Benue stakeholders meeting will neither affect the meeting nor stop the deliberations and implementation of resolutions that will be made at the forum.

Extending invitation to APC to be part of government activities does no favour to the Ortom administration. The opposition party should rather commend the Governor’s magnanimous disposition to involve it in government functions despite the daily insults they hurl at his person and office.

If APC cares so much about Benue people that it now grandstands over invitation to a meeting meant for development of the state, what has the party done to alleviate the suffering of over one million people displaced in the state as a result of herdsmen attacks? The same people who brought the party to power in 2015 have been abandoned by its members in the state.

We just hope that APC’s emotion-laden statement to boycott the stakeholders meeting is not borne out of the recent defection of thousands of its members into Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Benue State. If their reaction is a result of the mass decampings, it is unfortunate but understandable.

Governor Ortom gives assurance that his administration will continue to address challenges confronting the people and involve them in all government decisions.