The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has said he withdrew the petition challenging his defeat in the National Assembly elections because he does not want to “stress” the people of the state.
OsunDaily News recalls that Ortom was defeated by Titus Zam of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Benue north-west senatorial election.
The governor had initially vowed to challenge the outcome at the election tribunal, claiming that he was “clinically and electronically” rigged out. A few days later, Ortom withdrew his petition against the election result.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, Ortom claimed that he had “glaring evidence” of malfeasance but decided against challenging the result.
The Governor added that Benue people had gone through enough “trauma” and he did not want to add to their ordeal.
Ortom added that his senatorial bid loss does not really matter to him because he has done his best in serving the people of Benue.
He said: “My losing the senatorial bid does not really matter to me.
“Initially, I filed the suit. But I had to withdraw it because of peace. Especially for Benue state. The kind of trauma that my people have gone through, with two million people in IDP camps and people running here and there.
“Poverty is all over the place. Why should I get myself involved in stressing our people up? I decided to withdraw the case, irrespective of the evidence that I have.”
