Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom
By Our Reporter
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has called on Nigerians to call the presidency to order before it destroys the entire nation.
Recall that the Governor Ortom and the presidency have been in a face-off recently over policy on cattle ranching as Ortom insisted that open grazing must be prohibited in the country, particularly in Benue State.
Governor Ortom had during an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday, said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda on open grazing is to ‘Fulanize’ Nigeria.
His comment triggered reaction from the presidency which accused Ortom of inciting ethnic violence, saying he is responsible for the surge in insecurity.
The presidency made the claim in a statement on Wednesday by Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu.
However Ortom in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase on Thursday said the presidency via its “unguarded comments” would one day plunge the country into more chaos.
The statement reads in part, “Governor Ortom urges the good people of this country to call the Presidency to order before it destroy Nigeria.
“If nothing is done fast to avert the impending disaster, armed herders, bandits and other terrorists will one day take over Aso Rock Villa and those occupying the Villa at the moment will willingly surrender to them and flee from the country.
“No day passes without reports of herdsmen and other terrorists killing defenseless Nigerians in parts of the country. The number of displaced people has risen to millions, yet, the Presidency wants everyone to remain silent while the country burns.
“Governor Samuel Ortom will not keep mute! Let it be on record that while the Presidency deliberately destroyed Nigeria, someone spoke against the evil.
“The Governor believes in the words of Dr Martin Luther King jnr:“If peace means accepting second class citizenship, I dont want it. If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I dont want it. If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadning status-quo, I dont want peace. If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated polically, humiliated and segregated, I dont want peace.”
