FG Paying Lip Service To Benue Killings – Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to its promise to address the security situation in Benue State which has affected farmers and farming activities.

Obi made the accusation when he visited Makurdi, Benue State, on Wednesday as part of his campaign activities to the North Central region to woo voters for his 2023 presidential bid.

The LP candidate assured Benue residents of public safety and security that will improve their productive capacity, a deliberate policy to boost food production.

The former Anambra governor who visited Benue in the company of his wife, Margaret Obi, said his administration will attract investments to the agrarian Benue State.

Earlier, the Labour party’s governorship candidate in the state, Herman Hembe had asked Obi to look into the attacks by suspected herdsmen that have left nearly two million people displaced with many lives lost.

Clashes between farmers and herders have considerably risen in recent times, affecting the food production of the Middle-belt state.

Flooding and insecurity in the state had also forced many farmers to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps leading to a spike in food prices in the area.  

In August, the state governor, Samuel Ortom, declared that terrorists have killed no fewer than 5,000 persons in the state since 2011.

Ortom said the worsening insecurity in the country had complicated Benue State’s security situation, saying other forms of criminality had started creeping in due to the federal government’s refusal to decisively address insecurity.