ORTOM GUN ATTACK: 6, 000 herdsmen on the rampage in Benue— Tribal leader vanguardngr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vanguardngr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Paul Mumeh
Hate or love him, what has remained incontrovertible since his election as Governor of Benue State in 2015 is that Dr. Samuel Ioraer Ortom has provided leadership albeit cohesion in the State. His posture or physique does not present him as a warlord but like a leader whose domain is constantly under threat of invaders, he has two options ; either to throw his hands up in surrender or confront the invaders for his People’s preservation. Unarguably, Governor Ortom opted for the latter to wit; swim to safety with his people.
Needless to recap the circumstances that necessitated his jumping ship from the then octopus party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and back to the PDP but suffice it to submit that Ortom is politically savvy. He possesses the mental capacity to read the political barometer correctly.
The Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Benue State chapter, Mr. Aondogu Saaku, has described the statement made by the Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, that both farmers and herdsmen carry sophisticated weapons, as despicable and insulting to farmers.
The association of farmers in Nigeria says they are shocked by the comments recently made by Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong who said both herders and farmers carry AK-47.
The Benue State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesdays said they the governor is wrong and that they do not carry AK-47 like herdsmen.
Governor Lalong had earlier on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television Breakfast programme Sunrise Daily lamented over the rise in arms proliferation in the country noting that both herders and farmers now carry AK-47 in self-defence.
Daily Post Nigeria
Published
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has again called on the Federal Government to institute a probe into contracts awarded for the establishment of Ruga settlements in parts of the country.
The Governor made the call on Thursday while declaring open the National Executive Council, NEC meeting and General Assembly of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, taking place in Makurdi.
He said though majority of Nigerians rejected Ruga, the contracts had already been awarded, saying it is however the right of the people to know what became of the funds.
Governor Ortom emphasized that Benue was the first to reject the concept of Ruga because it was deceptive and against the interest of people of the state who are predominantly farmers.