Ortom’s incompetence, stubbornness fueled Benue killings –FG
Nigerian Government on Wednesday said that Benue Governor Samuel Ortom’s incompetence is responsible for the recurring killings in the state.
Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, stated this in a statement he released.
He said, “Fortunately, the people of Benue State know the truth. After all, it is they who have suffered under Ortom’s “leadership” – if one can call it such,” Shehu said.
“It is they who have experienced first-hand the mass killings, the torture, the litany of atrocities as Benue’s security situation plummeted ever further. It is they who buried their loved ones while watching their careless, irresponsible and incompetent governor politicise on those freshly dug graves.
“And it is they who turned to the last privilege they had left: their democratic privilege, to resoundingly kick out Ortom and his so-called People’s Democratic Party in favour of a new governor, Reverend Father Hyacinth Iornem Alia from Buhari’s party, the APC.”
Shehu accused Ortom of blocking President Buhari’s efforts to curb the recurring violence in the state. Among steps he said the President took was the setting up of the joint security operation, code-named Operation Whirl Stroke (OWS).
“The deployment of an array of NAF fighter aircraft, Mi-35 helicopter gunships as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms,” he added.
“The Deployment of ten (10) Units of the Police Mobile Force, Ten (10) Units of Police Special Forces (Tactical Operation Units) and Aerial Surveillance Teams (Police Helicopters).
“The acquisition and deployment of modern military armaments. The provision of timely and actionable intelligence to Ortom (which were routinely ignored).
“The prompt provision of humanitarian support to victims via the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development.
“Despite these efforts, we know that the new Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has his work cut out. In his own words, he is inheriting a state that is in the Intensive Care Unit. Perhaps if disgraced Governor Ortom had been more concerned with doing his job than politisicing the tragedies so frequently taking place under his watch, the situation in Benue might be very different, like in any of its neighbours – Taraba, Nasarawa, the FCT – which all enjoy peace.
“Instead, Ortom stubbornly refused to engage with the detailed, holistic approach clearly spelt out by the Federal Government. He arrogantly chose his own, destructive path. He blamed the Fulani for every problem that arose. He ignored numerous intelligence reports passed to him for action. He rejected police findings into investigations that didn’t meet his egotistical worldview. He politicized every life lost on his watch.
“So, thank God the people of Benue rejected him so roundly at elections. His contract was not renewed. He failed a Senate election. Even the person he endorsed for Governorship was rejected.”
