Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of colluding with armed herdsmen to destabilise and attack the people of the state.
Ortom further stated that the party’s officials in the state are prone to defending the killer herders whenever people are assaulted, stressing that the armed herders function like a militia wing of the party.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Makurdi by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Terver Akase, adding that the APC in Benue State has proven that it has no regard for human life, as they are only concerned with how to get power.
Governor Ortom maintained that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law and the Livestock Guards, which the APC and their herder allies desperately wanted to see scrapped, have come to stay.
The statement further noted that the party has never shown empathy towards victims of the humanitarian crisis in the State, insisting that there is no evidence the party had taken relief materials to any of the IDP camps, noting that the only time the party delegation visited the camp in Daudu was before the 2019 elections with the sole purpose of campaigning for votes.
The statement read: “We read the text of a press conference the Benue State Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC and others addressed yesterday, January 24, 2023, in Makurdi in which they levelled all manner of accusations on Governor Samuel Ortom, whom they said has been using the state Livestock Guards to rustle Fulani cattle, among several other mischievous allegations.
“By their outing, the APC in Benue State has left no one in doubt that they are working closely with those who invade communities of the State and attack innocent people. This is not the first time that leaders of the party have come out to take sides with killer herders. The APC in Benue State has often accused Benue people of attacking and killing themselves. Not too long ago, the sacked governorship candidate of the party re-echoed the accusation that the party’s leader first made four years ago, absolving herdsmen of any responsibility in the series of attacks on the Benue people. It is clear that the leader of APC in Benue State, Senator George Akume was behind the said press conference, which was a tactical way of diverting attention from the removal of his puppet governorship candidate by the Court of Appeal.
“As far as the APC in Benue State is concerned, the lives of cows are more valuable than human lives. This is why in the said press statement, their emphasis was on cattle rustling as they frantically tried to justify why the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law should be reviewed to grant easy passage and access to Fulani herders with their animals to lands across the State. The APC’s line of reasoning resonates with the thinking of Fulani pastoralists such as Miyetti Allah, who insist that until the law is repealed, they will not stop sponsoring attacks on the State.
”The APC in Benue State has again proven that it has no value for human lives, and as long as they get power, Benue can go up in flames. A political party that turns to accuse the people of the State it hopes to govern lacks humanity and the conscience to lead.”