Ortom to Atiku: You abandoned Benue in our hour of needs

Governor Samuel Ortom on Sunday told former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that Benue people are not happy with him.

Why? Ortom pointedly told Atiku that he abandoned the people of the state when herdsmen were terrorizing the state.

His words: “Your visit to Benue as the ‘Zege Mule U Tiv’ is long overdue. But it’s better late than never. You are in your home and we are happy to receive you. But let me say here that our people were not happy that you didn’t visit when terrorists, the Fulani groups, were attacking and killing the people in Benue.”

The governor spoke when the presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his campaign team visited Ortom at the Benue People’s House.

Ortom lamented that as holder of the ‘Zege Mule U Tiv,’ (the big shelter of the Tiv nation), Benue people expected Atiku to visit or send relief materials to the victims when the state came under the siege of herdsmen.

The governor stated that groups like Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) are still terrorising the state.

However, Atiku justified his inability to visit the state in the trying times, saying he was out of the country for further studies.

Atiku also said he issued several statements to condemn the activities of violent herdsmen attacking Benue communities.

The 2019 PDP presidential candidate donated N50 million for the upkeep of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

TheStar