Chief Samuel Ortom, the governor-elect of Benue State has revealed that he once worked as a motor park tout after dropping out of school in form 2 due to insufficient funds to continue his education. The governor-elect described his rise to the number 1 seat in the state as a divine arrangement and the will of God for him.
Chief Ortom, who is a former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, emphasized that dropping out of school at an early age did not force him to tow the wrong path by getting involved in anything criminal for survival.
The governor-elect gave this information in a tell all tale about his rise from grass to grace in an exclusive interview with Punch Newspaper in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
He said, “My journey from being a motor park tout to an elected governor is purely a divine arrangement. I cast my mind back to when I dropped out of school in Form 2 but I remained hardworking and I did not engage in crime to survive.
“One thing I know is that hard work pays and you must keep faith with God; power belongs to God and He alone gives it to whoever He will.”
He also revealed that the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), delegates selection process for the primaries that brought him in as the party’s flag bearer in the state, was a deliberate attempt to cut short his ambition to become the next governor.
“The process of selection of delegates in the last PDP governorship election was manipulated by the leadership of the party to thwart my ambition and frustrate the people who all supported me. But God vindicated me and blessed me, and now I am an elected governor.”
