The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has revealed the reason behind the declaration of a three day fast for the president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in the United Kingdom on health grounds.
The state governor while describing the president as the only medicine the country needs to overcome challenges precipitated by corruption said: “Buhari remains the medicine for Nigeria. Despite his age, he is willing to add value, instil discipline and wipe away corruption in Nigeria.”
He continued: “Before him, nobody was bold enough to confront corruption. It is good for Nigerians to pray for him. For us in Benue we have declared three days fast for Buhari for his quick recovery so that he can come back to work for us. “We have no business with poverty in Nigeria but indiscipline and corruption have combined to keep us down. We need Buhari to take us to the Promised Land.”
Speaking on the anti-grazing bill recently passed into law by the Benue State House of Assembly, the state governor said: “We in Benue State have a job to do and we will certainly do it. The anti-grazing bill does not say herdsmen should use gun and kill people. We are not sending any herdsmen away from Benue but they must ranch their cattle under the law.
“The ranching bill is meant to protect both the farmer and the herdsman. I challenge anyone against the bill to give me a better alternative to the current challenge we have on our hands. I like superior arguments and if there is any on the matter, I would quickly adjust, he said. The governor accused the most wanted militia in the state, Terwase Akwaza, aka Gana, as an agent of the Boko Haram terrorists working to bring down the state, after killing his Special Adviser on Security, Denen Igbana. Ortom said, “Gana is linked with Boko Haram terrorists to destroy and maim people in Benue. He initially accepted our amnesty and pleaded with us to allow him to bring in other members of his deadly gang under his control.”
He added: “He surrendered 87 guns that day and extended his amnesty for another one month. To rehabilitate the boys, we gave him contract to do for the state. But he wasn’t sincere as he went back into crimes.
“He killed my SA in charge of Security and since having been fingered for heinous crimes and being declared wanted by the Police headquarters in Abuja, he has been fighting us using his large followership. Only a God is helping us. If we had not identified this man as a terrorist, he would have overrun us.”