Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Benue, John Ngbede, says Governor Samuel Ortom has tremendous respect for President Muhammadu Buhari but cannot remain silent when his people are being brutally murdered.
Ngbede made the announcement on Wednesday during a response to the press conference hosted on Monday in Abuja by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Special Tasks, Senator George Akume.
Ngbede stressed that while Ortom had tremendous respect for the president, that respect cannot prevent him from respectfully calling on the president to fulfill the duties of his office.
“The governor only called on the president to discharge his constitutional responsibilities to protect his subjects who are killed daily by herders.
“The governor had shown his love for the president in 2017 when he was ill and in the hospital.
“Through his help, the Benue State Government, in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), organized a three-day prayer and fasting session from 12 to 14 May 2017 for the President’s speedy recovery.
“The governor was also part of a six-member delegation of governors who visited the president on his hospital bed in London.
“On his return, the governor called on all Nigerians to pray for the president in the belief that when the president is sick, the whole country is sick,” he said.
He therefore said that it was a pure lie that Akume said that Ortom had no respect for the president, intended to sow discord between the president and the governor.
Akume is attacking the governor for his concerns about insecurity in the state.
“We find this line of attack baffling. The minister appears to cite rural insecurity as a reason why Benue state should not expect justice over the concerted invasion of herders in Benue,” he said.
