Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has knocked President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for blaming him for the security challenges in the state.
On Wednesday, the presidency said Ortom should be blamed for the killings, alleging that he rejected interventions from President Muhammadu Buhari to address the situation.
Reacting on Thursday, Ortom described the presidency’s claim as “futile attempts to twist events and history”.
In a statement signed by Nathaniel Ikyur, his chief press secretary, the governor said Buhari failed to secure the country, particularly Benue.
“Indeed, the Presidential spokesman’s futile attempts to twist events and history in Benue State is unfortunate and reprehensible. It shows how much he and others in that league have misled the government and Nigerian people in the last inglorious eight years,” the statement reads.
“It is equally a known fact that President Buhari has failed woefully in securing Nigeria, particularly Benue state.
“It is on record that Governor Samuel Ortom has repeatedly pleaded with the Buhari government to intervene in the Fulani militias’ incessant invasion of Benue State. The President sadly chooses to endorse the invasion and merely asks our people to learn to accommodate their neighbours who derive pleasure in killing and dispossessing them of their ancestral lands.”
‘FG AGAINST ME OVER ANTI-GRAZING LAW’
The governor also claimed that the Buhari-led administration has been against him since he banned open grazing in the state in 2017.
“Benue people are well aware that Governor Ortom has been a target of the Buhari presidency since 2017 when he boldly signed a law banning open grazing of livestock in the state,” he said.
“The Governor has been subjected to many coordinated media attacks, probes, freezing of state accounts and other punitive measures to frustrate and cripple his administration. While other states were given infrastructural loans, Benue under Governor Ortom was denied access to the funds.
“The same thing happened when the Benue State Government met all requirements to secure N42 billion to clear the backlog of salaries, pensions and gratuity.”
