Suswam Did Not Beg Ortom – Terkula Suswam.

Thursday’s meeting between Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and his predecessor, Gabriel Suswam, discussed issues of security and development of Benue State. Suswam did not beg Ortom to drop the probe of his administration, neither did Ortom beg Suswam to prevail on Terhemen Tarzoor to withdraw his petition from the electoral tribunal, says Terkura Suswam, the former governor’s elder brother.

There has been a frosty relationship between Ortom and Suswam following the acrimonious campaigns of the last general election that swept Suswam and his party, the PDP, out and ushered in Ortom and his party, the APC, to power after 16 years of PDP rule in the state. The acrimony between the two has been worsened by the spate of committees and commissions empanelled by Ortom since assumption of power in May to reverse some decisions of the Suswam administration and probe its financial activities.

Initial reports in the social and traditional media tended to support rumours that the meeting provided a forum for the former governor to plead with his successor to soft pedal on his apparent determination to investigate his administration. It was reported also that Ortom pleaded with Suswam to prevail on Tarzoor, the PDP Governorship candidate, to discontinue his challenge of Ortom’s victory at the tribunal.

But Terkura Suswam, who attended the meeting that lasted from late Thursday night to the early hours of Friday, said those spreading such falsehood were misleading the people. “It will be stupid of anybody to imagine that Gabriel Suswam went to beg Ortom”, he said. “What is the basis? The whole of that meeting was centred on the growth and development of Benue state. What has Suswam done to warrant him begging Ortom?”, he queried.

Terkura, the chairman of Makurdi-based Ashitech Conglomerate who had his appointment as first class chief of Sankera recently terminated by Ortom, told journalists in Makurdi yesterday: “At no point in the meeting did Ortom beg Suswam to prevail on Tarzoor to step down his tribunal case against him and there was no point when Suswam begged not to be probed”.

The two judicial commissions of enquiry set up by Ortom to investigate all revenue receipts and expenditures, as well as the sale of government-owned assets during the eight-year administration of Suswam have already commenced work. Similarly, the case instituted by Tarzoor at the Benue Governorship Election petition tribunal has reached the stage for the delivery of judgment. It is, therefore, unlikely that any such pleadings would have served any purpose.

Terkura described the reports of begging by Suswam and Ortom as the figment of the imagination of the peddlers. He commended Ortom for his developmental efforts in the state as well as his Amnesty programme, and called on those possessing arms illegally to surrender them in order to foster peace in the state.

Source SevenDays.com