Why Benue Gov Ortom Speaks To Media About Buhari — Aide

Nathaniel Ikyur, chief press secretary to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has revealed that his principal appears to be a critic of President Muhammadu Buhari due to his regular comments in the media.

He said this is so because Governor Ortom has been denied access to the president and the only way to tell him the problems of Benue people is through the media.

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Mr. Ikyur, who spoke to THE WHISTLER in an interview in Abuja, said the perception that Gov Ortom hates the president or Fulani people due to his criticism of herdsmen is wrong, noting that the governor appointed Fulani into his cabinet.

He said, “The governor has repeatedly sent letters to the president and the vice president, itemizing the issues that are threatening this country. At a point when it became obvious that the governor was denied access, he now said the only access I have now is to the media.

“He has been denied access to his own president to share common ideas which he has been sharing through letters; he does not hate the president or the Fulani.

“A lot of his friends are Fulani; we have Fulani in the state government as appointees. Those the governor hates are the Fulani from Niger, Senegal, Mauritania, and other parts of Africa who have invaded the state.”

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He said the Fulani from outside the country were the ones perpetrating evil against Benue people, stressing “They do not come here to farm or do business but they come with AK47, to kill and take over our villages, and those are the ones he hates.”

He said Gov Ortom has long felt that the nation was bleeding under President Buhari and had done his best to call his attention to the security threats to the country, adding that his criticism of Buhari is not to attack him but “because he wants the president to do it right so that together Nigeria can be better for all of us.”

On the performance of Ortom as governor, the media aide said a lot has been achieved in terms of infrastructure and education, noting that the Ortom administration has renovated over 700 classrooms in partnership with the Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC).

He, however, regretted that insecurity has prevented pupils from benefitting from schools’ renovation because many of them have been taken over by displaced persons in the state.

“The governor has done very well in education, infrastructure, health, security– which is topmost–, and in the area of culture where two paramount rulers in the state now have their palaces,” he said.

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Speaking on the political future of his principal, Ikyur said Ortom was yet to make a decision, although “people in the state are urging him to run.”

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