FORMER Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has stated that the directive issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding the security crisis in the state had yet to be implemented.
Recall that President Tinubu had, during his visit to the state on June 18, directed Governor Alia Hyacinth to form a committee of former governors and traditional rulers to work together to tackle insecurity in the state.
The president was in the state to commiserate with the people and proffer solutions to ending the protracted carnage that had turned the state into a killing field.
In an interview on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” on Monday, July 20, Ortom said no meeting has been convened since the president’s visit.
“We are still waiting for the governor’s calls to go there, because Benue State belongs to us, and there is no way we can allow (the killings) this to continue to happen,” Ortom stated.
He decried the frequent killings in the state and said the Yelewata attack, which drew Tinubu’s attention, affected part of his local government.
According to him, his paternal grandmother hails from Yelewata.
“So, it is as good as home. It is my place, and we are waiting for the governor, if he calls us, we’ll go there,” he added.
Ortom spoke about his efforts to stem insecurity in the North-Central state while in office.
He said he did everything possible to work with traditional rulers, security agencies, and local communities to curb attacks.
He stressed his strong stance against policies like Ruga and cattle colonies under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
He said each time they brought up the idea, he stood against it.
“It’s unfortunate they didn’t listen because I gave statistics on what is obtainable in other countries. There is no way cattle rearing and farmers can cohabit. There will be a crisis,” he stated.
Ortom posited that some of the violence in Benue were caused by foreign elements.
He claimed that some of the attackers were from Chad, Niger, Senegal, Mali, and Libya.
He commended Tinubu’s response to the Yelewata killings, saying the previous government failed to address the crisis.
The ICIR reported that during the visit, Tinubu told the people of Benue State to learn how to accommodate anyone seeking to live and conduct business in the state.
He said this was important for peace to reign in the troubled state.
The ICIR reports that killings in the state have spanned several years, and more than 200 residents reportedly died in the onslaughts in June.
While some blame cropper-herders’ conflict on the carnage, others label the assailants as foreign terrorists.
Hundreds of residents were killed under Ortom in the state as his efforts to contain the menace failed to yield desired results.
He introduced a law that prohibited open grazing and also set up the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards (BSCVG)
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance