Benue State Governor, Samuel
Ortom has declared that he would never surrender his state to marauding Fulani
herdsmen.
The governor made the declaration
while faulting a statement credited to the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali,
saying the enactment of the anti-grazing law was responsible for the attacks
perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.
Speaking with Vanguard, Ortom
claimed that the Minister’s claim was an indication that he was part of the
alleged conspiracy against people of Benue State.
According to Ortom, “What we did
was the popular wish of the people. The law was not smuggled. It was a product
of the cry of the people and as a responsible government, we heard their cry
and presented a bill before the State House of Assembly that went further to do
public hearings across the state to get the input of everyone that was
concerned because of the importance of the bill.
“Today, you talk about ranching
in some states, grazing reserve in some states and tomorrow you talk about
colony. I don’t understand, when globally what is being practised is ranching.
I heard and I saw the Minister of Defence after their security meeting.
“While briefing the Press, he
said it was the law prohibiting open grazing that brought the killings in Benue
State. I saw that and I said to myself, it cannot be the Minister of Defence!
Somebody who worked and retired from the army after attaining the rank of a
General.
“This is someone who is a
Minister, who is educated and has travelled far and wide round the globe. How
could he say that?
“Honourable Minister of Defence,
if you said that kind of a thing, where were you as the Minister of this
country when herdsmen were carrying AK-47 and weapons higher than AK-47 and
were going about killing my people and you want me to keep quiet? And I begin
to wonder.
“The other day, the Federal
Government came out with a pronouncement that it was ISIS, a terrorist group in
West Africa that is attacking Benue people and on the other hand, I was told
that the Minister said that we should accommodate foreigners.
“What a country? Foreigners come
in without valid papers and they come to take over your land and you surrender
it to them? Minister, I will not do that in Benue State, we will not surrender
our land.”
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that is the APC that you came to power ,that is the change that you promise your people so know very well that Satan will always appear as an angel of light it is time for every politician to know that they have note only kill the unity of this country but have also turn the militry to tools , and the militry have turn into a political party that lacks a leader, almost 98 ministers in this gov have no political experiance , the senate is another body that is divided on political, reigeos,sectional lines ,defence minister just have to say something for saying sake to keep his job
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