The immediate past Governor of Benue State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Samuel Ortom, yesterday brushed aside widespread reports that he was chased out and attacked at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.

Chief Ortom denied outrightly that he was either harassed or attacked by anybody, stressing that he is “hale and hearty.

He stated that, “at no time was he shoved, harassed, or assaulted, contrary to claims circulating on social media.

Chief Ortom, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Terver Akase, said “the social media reports are not only false but also mischievous and should be disregarded by the public”.

He explained that as a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, he was at the National Secretariat to attend the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Tuesday, stressing that when he arrived at the hall, he observed that a group of party members were holding a meeting.

“I therefore left, as I was not part of their private discussion and joined the official NEC meeting of the party presided over by the Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman and the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu”.

“As a firm believer in democracy and the rule of law, I have consistently advocated for unity within the PDP and will continue to do so.

“Even before the Federal High Court delivered its judgment restraining the conduct of the party’s National Convention in Ibadan, a verdict that equally barred INEC from monitoring the convention, I have cautioned those insisting on proceeding with the convention that they were pursuing an illegality”, he exclaimed.

The former Governor reaffirmed his commitment to the unity and progress of the PDP, and expressed deep appreciation to all those who called or sent messages inquiring about his safety following the misinformation regarding events at the PDP National Secretariat.