Ortom, has lost the senatorial election to his ex-aide and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Titus Zam.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has lost the senatorial election to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Titus Zam.
The governor ran on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Zam was a Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to Ortom until the governor defected to the PDP in 2018
Zam, a strong ally of the former governor of the state and Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, George Akume, polled 143,151 votes to defeat Ortom who scored 106,882 while Labour Party candidate, Mike Gbillah scored 51,950.
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Announcing the results at the senatorial district headquarters at North Bank, Makurdi, the returning officer, Professor Rufus Shato declared the candidate of APC, Titus Zam winner of the Senatorial election.
Meanwhile, senator Abba Moro of the Peoples Democratic Party has won his re-election into the Senate.
Moro polled 76,459 votes to defeat his closest rival of the APC, Daniel Onjeh who scored 59,959 while the LP candidate, Joe Ojobo scored 40,194
The electoral officer of Benue South senatorial district, Prof Robert Tee, declared Moro winner of the election.
With the loss by Ortom, he becomes the second member of the Group of Five (G5) to lose their ambition for the senate. His Enugu state counterpart, Ifeanyi Uguanyi, had earlier lost the Enugu North senatorial election to Okey Ezea of the Labour Party. In Abia, the fate of the governor, who contested for Abia South, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu hangs on the balance. Other members of the G5 are Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state.
Makinde will be facing his re-election on March 11, while Wike is not seeking any position, for now. The G5 governors were united in their opposition to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.