Benue State Government on Friday lambasted the Presidency for condemning Governor Samuel Ortom’s recent comment on insecurity in the country.
Ortom, while lamenting recent killings in his state, had urged President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a National Security Summit to discuss and address the worsening security situation in the country.
He also said that President Buhari had shown himself to be a President of only the Fulanis through his handling of attacks allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen in Benue and other parts of the country.
But in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari frowned at the comment by Ortom.
According to Garba Shehu, Buhari was disappointed and sad over the comments by Ortom.
Responding in a statement issued on Friday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Ortom said:
“We read the statement in which he (Shehu) said President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed “his disappointment and sadness to hear Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State made a litany of accusations against his person and his government following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state.
”Shehu was referring to Governor Ortom’s clarion call on the President to act decisively and in an unbiased manner to end the spate of killings by Fulani herdsmen in Benue and other parts of the country.
“We are convinced that Mr President was not aware that his aide Shehu made such a statement on his behalf. The media aide didn’t speak for the President in the said statement. President Buhari wouldn’t have approved such a reckless and insensitive press release.
“What is wrong with Governor Ortom’s call on the President to address the nation, convene a national security summit and declare a state of emergency on security, following the spate of killings taking place in Benue and the remaining states of the federation?
“Governor Ortom is not the only one who is worried by the worsening security situation in the country and has called on the President to rise to his responsibilities by declaring a state of emergency on security and convening a summit to address the numerous security challenges bedevilling the nation. Many other Nigerians of good conscience have at different times made similar calls. What the Governor therefore deserves is commendation and not condemnation.
“If Garba Shehu claims that the President is disappointed in the Benue State Governor for speaking against the sustained attacks on his people, we wonder how he feels about the killings in North East, North West, South East, South West and other parts of the North Central. Are those killings occurring of the comments of Governors of the affected states?
“It is shocking that Shehu would make a statement regarding an attack carried out by Fulani herdsmen and there won’t be a single sentence of reproach directed at the violent Fulani herders. Such a deliberate omission smacks of complicity and tacit support for the killer herders.
“Shehu is aware that Governor Ortom has on several occasions raised alarm against activities of the rampaging herdsmen whose sole aim is to take over the ancestral lands of Benue people and other Nigerians. The Governor has written letters to the Federal Government and made other spirited efforts to have the government at the centre take preventive measures against further attacks on Benue communities.
“The Federal Government has repeatedly ignored such patriotic calls, insisting rather that cattle routes of the 1950s be opened to grant easy passage to the pastoralists and their animals.
“The posture of the Federal Government has made many Nigerians conclude that it is complicit and its inaction has emboldened the armed herdsmen to cause greater havoc across the country.
“The President is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The job of a governor is to support security agencies to perform their duties, and this, Governor Ortom has done efficiently to the admiration of many Nigerians.”