Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has reacted to a statement by Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong which stated that he had warned Ortom against the anti-open grazing legislation passed by the Benue Assembly on November 1st, 2017.
According to Ortom, Lalong is also under pressure by indigenes of Plateau to pass similar legislation in the state and was only keeping double standards in trying to please the Federal Government by not moving on the issue.
His words: “How can you warn me? Am I the governor of Plateau State, Or am I his staff? Do I work for him? I’m Governor of Benue State, and my responsibility is to do what my people want. That is what democracy is.
“So when you and castigate people about because you were induced by someone, and you come out to make those kind of statements, then it’s unfortunate.
“Remember, this is the same man, a double standard person, who told me when I visited Jos three weeks ago, he told me that he is under pressure by his people to do the same law that I did in Benue State. He told me this, he never warned me anywhere. He’s just trying to use that to blackmail me, what crime have I committed.”
Ortom continued: “Is this how we want to continue as a country? Where some people are given privilege to be lawless?”