Benue youths force Governor to abandon meeting with Oshiomhole, APC

A large number of Benue youths formed a human barricade and stopped the convoy of state governor, Samuel Ortom, from leaving the Government House to attend a reconciliation meeting with the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

On Monday, July 16,Ortom said the APC had kicked him out and announced that he was shopping for a new party. However, he was back in the APC on Thursday, July 19 as he declared, "I am here in APC, a member of APC, I'm still flying the flag of APC" after a meeting with the party's national leadership in Abuja.

He was on his way to another scheduled meeting with national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and some other party members when the youths refused to grant him access of the road.

According to a report by Channels Television, the youths asked the governor to resign his membership from the APC or lose the support of the people.

A leader of the protesting youths, Dave Ogbole, said, "If the governor insists on travelling to Abuja for the APC meeting, he will risk losing the support of the people."

The governor's pleas to be allowed to attend the meeting and protect the interest of the people of the state fell on deaf ears and he was forced to make a U-turn and return to the Government House.

Benue's troubled year

The governor has had a frosty relationship with the federal government in the past few months on the back of violent killings in the state which has led to the death of hundreds.

The governor has repeatedly accused the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore of sponsoring cattle herders to kill residents of rural communities, claiming in May 2018 that an estimated 492 people had been killed by herdsmen.

The governor's several public calls have been ignored by the federal government and the governor's frustration has been public knowledge for months. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has openly courted the governor, urging him to dump the ruling party as he bids for a second term in office.