Benue State governor Samuel Ortom has been labeled as incompetent by the presidency following the rate of insecurity in his state.
Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu, in a statement on Wednesday, absolved President Muhammadu Buhari of any blame concerning the security situation in Benue.
“Fortunately, the people of Benue State know the truth. After all, it is they who have suffered under Ortom’s “leadership” – if one can call it such,” Shehu said.
“It is they who have experienced first-hand the mass killings, the torture, the litany of atrocities as Benue’s security situation plummeted ever further. It is they who buried their loved ones while watching their careless, irresponsible and incompetent governor politicise on those freshly dug graves.
“And it is they who turned to the last privilege they had left: their democratic privilege, to resoundingly kick out Ortom and his so-called People’s Democratic Party in favour of a new governor, Reverend Father Hyacinth Iornem Alia from Buhari’s party, the APC.”
Two weeks ago, gunmen attacked an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Guma LGA in Benue, reportedly killing more than 30 people including a pregnant woman.
The killing came a few days after an unconfirmed number of persons were also murdered in an attack by gunmen in Umogidi village of Entekpa-Adoka district, Otukpo LGA.
Also in March, it was reported that about 50 persons were allegedly killed by suspected herders who invaded communities in Kwande LGA of the state.
The spate of killings led to protests in Benue by angry youths who mounted roadblocks demanding an end to the insecurity.
Shehu said the president had taken steps to tackle the issue in Benue but his efforts were frustrated by Ortom.
He disclosed that the federal government also established and funded a joint security operation, code-named Operation Whirl Stroke (OWS).
However, he said Ortom was not willing to engage with the project and accused the governor of endangering the security operatives with fake news and disinformation campaigns.
