₦airaland Forum

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, says he has forgiven those who plotted to illegally impeach him as Governor.

He spoke on Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Parish, North Bank Makurdi during a thanksgiving service in his honour and the Majority Leader of the Benue State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Avine Agbom.

Ortom explained that his decision was based on the conviction that as a Christian, one is forgiven by God to forgive other fellow humans for their wrongs.

The Governor stated that, though he has forgiven the persons behind the failed impeachment move, those who were part of the plot have the moral duty to publicly cleanse the smear they poured on him.

He said some of the assembly members who wanted him impeached have realised their mistakes and are retracing their steps to join the PDP fold.

Ortom stated that his determination to continue to save lives and property remains unwavering, saying he set up a foundation about 16 years ago to help treat snake bite patients from all parts of the state.

He acknowledged the support of the Church, Mr. Avine Agbom and the entire Benue people to the sustenance of peace in the state.

Governor Ortom directed the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Dennis Ityavyar to construct a block of classrooms at St. Mary’s Secondary School North Bank as part of his intervention in the school.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/why-we-cant-arrest-oshiomhole-over-corruption-allegations-efcc-tells-court/

Federated Foodstuff Dealers Association of Nigeria, FFDAN has announced its stoppage of evacuation of all farm produce and other food items from Benue State until issues of alleged illegal levies and harassment of members are settled.

National President of FFDAN, Prince Christian Afiaunwu told newsmen in Enugu, weekend, that his members had been facing several problems especially in Benue State.

He said: “In Benue State the kind of levies imposed on our members are so much that we can’t bear it any longer. In 2013 we had an understanding with the Benue State government that the amount we had to pay as levy for a lorry load of goods was N17,500.

It was also agreed that this money should be paid at the point of loading. “Unfortunately since 2015 the state government flouted the agreement claiming that they were not the ones we negotiated with.

What they now do is that even if you buy the goods from another state, you must pay N62,500 once you get to the first boundary in Benue.” Afiaunwu recalled that series of complaints from the association caused the Federal Government to mandate all states to build a functional control post where veterinary and other checks are carried out.

He claimed that in Benue State there were over 40 points where levies were collected, saying “Every village has its own collectors and once they are there on the road you have no option than to comply or they will rob and assault you. At the end you spend over N200,000 in the state alone.

A lot of our members have lost their lives to these hoodlums while others have been maimed. Chibuike Okafor, a member from Owerri now has one leg because they drew him down from the lorry and his leg was crushed as he tried to get up.

“We discovered that government officials produce receipts and send these boys to the road to make money for them. Severally, we have written to the governor, state assembly, Board of Internal Revenue and the Police but they didn’t do anything. At a point we got policemen from Force Headquarters but the boys attacked the policemen and destroyed their vehicles and up till today nothing happened.

“We want Nigeria to know that whatsoever is happening in Benue State is caused by the government. We are also calling on the Federal Government to intervene because it is not our wish that the people should suffer.”

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/food-scarcity-looms-as-dealers-suspend-transportation-from-benue/

The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has announced the commencement of posting of corps members to Benue State.

This development followed Governor Samuel Ortom’s intervention after NYSC expressed fear of insecurity in the state.

However, NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Suleman Kazaure, gave the assurance on Thursday when Governor Ortom visited him at the Corps headquarters in Abuja.

Brigadier General Kazaure commended the Governor for visiting to allay fears of the Corps on the security situation in the state.

He stated that Ortom’s visit had not only helped to build confidence of he Corps, about the security situation but also strengthened ties between it and the government as well as its people.

Governor Ortom had earlier assured the NYSC Director-General that his administration had taken proactive measures to guarantee the safety of all corps members posted to the state.

He said the security situation in Benue has improved significantly with the presence of Operation Whirl Stroke, describing as unnecessary, reports which inflamed fears leading to the suspension of corps members’ posting to the state.

The Governor reaffirmed the determination of his administration to sustain its collaboration with security agencies to safeguard lives and property.

source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/nysc-begins-posting-of-corps-members-to-benue-after-ortoms-intervention/

The gubernatorial flag bearer of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) in Benue State, Barr. Emmanuel Jime on Thursday said that he would retain and strengthen the state’s anti-open grazing law if elected into the exalted office in 2019.

Jime spoke at the Synod session of the NKST Church in Gboko area of the state.

He however dispel the rumour that his administration when voted into power would succumb to the bidding of some powerful forces in Abuja to repeal and reenact a weaker version of the law so as to allow herdsmen operate freely in Benue.

The guber hopeful who is also the Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) however promised to partner the federal government to develop a free trade zone in Benue, build key roads and invest substantially in healthcare and education.

Jime lamented that many politicians were paying lip service to development in the face of abject poverty and a stark absence of basic amenities as he assured the congregants to return Benue to its days of glory and put it on the path of rapid growth in all areas.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/apc-guber-candidate-promises-to-retain-grazing-law-in-benue/

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has said he was ready to die as long as he stands for and speaks the truth.

The Governor, who recently dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stated that since he detached himself from godfathers, he has started paying salaries of state workers as and when due.

Ortom said this on Tuesday while swearing in eight newly-appointed commissioners.

According to him, “There is no godfatherism again under my watch and that is why you can see that since I detached myself from godfathers, even salaries, I have been able to pay.”

Ortom also said that he was looking for other ways to offset the remaining arrears of salaries owed Benue workers as soon as possible.

Speaking further, the Governor said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was now a department of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He added, “Despite intimidation from the EFCC that has now become a department in APC, we are not going to be intimidated.

“In the last eight months, civil servants who are working with me are being troubled for no just cause. It then means that once you decamp from the APC, EFCC comes after you.”

“We are not afraid. If we did anything wrong, we are ready to face the law but we will not succumb to intimidation.

“We have reported the matter to the United Nations. I am ready to die once but I must speak the truth.”

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/benue-gov-ortom-reveals-why-he-is-now-paying-workers-salary-says-he-is-ready-to-die-for-truth/

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Benue State said it has uncovered plot by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to buy Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, from victims of herdsmen crisis in the state currently taking refuge in Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps.

The party in a statement through its Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, said credible intelligence at its disposal indicated that the APC was targeting to manipulate and rig the coming 2019 general election in the state.

Part of the statement read,”this rigging scheme was launched by the party on the day it staged a decamping ceremony inside the Internally Displaced Persons IDPs camp at Daudu.

“To have staged a decamping ceremony inside an IDPs camp alone was a record showing of moral depravity and conscienceless desperation, yet APC went a step further down the path of infamy with their agents secretly offering monies ranging between N5,000 and N10,000 to displaced persons at the camp in exchange for their PVCs while the charade of a decamping ceremony lasted.

“The scheme has since then continued by the opposition party in the state with their agents going about secretly to IDPs camps and as well to residences housing those victims of herdsmen attacks offering to them various sums of money in exchange for their PVCs.

“This development is not only obnoxious and nefarious but targeted to undermine the very institution of democracy which stands as the most prized asset Nigerians have next to the corporate entity of the country.

“Moreover, this scheme amounts to wickedly rubbing salt into the injuries of Benue IDPs who are suffering today because the APC controlled federal government failed to protect them from the swords, knives and bullets of Fulani herdsmen who have for years killed, maimed and plundered our land at will and unchallenged.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/apc-secretly-offering-money-to-buy-pvcs-from-benue-idps-pdp-alleges/

The Acting Governor of Benue State, Benson Abounu, on Sunday, in Makurdi, the state capital, ordered full investigations into the killing of five members of a family on Vandeikya street, High-level, Makurdi on Friday night.

Abounu, who described as horrific the killing of one Mr Nicholas Adetsav, a staff of Makurdi local government council and his entire family, said the suggestion that the late wife carried out the killings before taking her own life was mind-boggling and needed to be properly investigated.

Abounu consequently instructed the state Commissioner of Police to carry out full investigation with the aim of unraveling what actually happened.

The acting governor further said that he was very saddened by the event of Friday night and the loss of five precious lives.

He condemned the killings, describing it as a sin against God and humanity.

Ede Ogaba Ede, Media Aide to Abounu, in a statement said that the acting Governor commiserated with the relations and family of the deceased and prayed that such a horrendous thing never happened again.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/benue-govt-breaks-silence-on-murder-of-man-wife-three-kids-in-makurdi/

The Secretary to the Benue State Government, Prof. Tony Ijohor, SAN, has said he recently led 3,000 All Progressives Congress members from his Gboko constituency to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Ijohor who stated this through a statement issued by the Principal Information Officer, Office of the SSG, Joseph Iwev, said his loyalty to Governor Samuel Ortom was 100 per cent.

Part of the statement read, “Professor Ijohor wishes to state categorically that he is 100 per cent loyal to Governor Samuel Ortom and his administration.

“The SSG wishes to also state that he is loyal to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

He draws attention to the fact that a few days ago, he publicly defected with over 3,000 former APC members from the Ipav District of the Gboko Local Government Area to the PDP.

“Professor Ijohor reiterates that he stands by his defection and remains totally committed to Governor Ortom’s reelection and victory of all the PDP candidates at the 2019 general elections,” the statement read.

The SSG said he and Governor Ortom had known each other since 1970 when they were enrolled into the same primary school on the same day and had since maintained an uninterrupted close relationship.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/i-led-3000-apc-members-to-pdp-benue-ssg/

Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has called on the Federal Government to develop the seven grazing reserves donated by Nasarawa State to help address the clashes between farmers and herders.

Governor Al-Makura spoke, yesterday, during a stakeholders’ meeting on farmers/herders crisis organised by the state government in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Farmers/Herders Crises, in Lafia.

Represented by his Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Haruna Osegba, Al-Makura also suggested the need for both Federal and state governments to encourage the establishment of ranches by individuals, groups and organisations for cattle rearing.

He also disclosed that as part of measures to promote peace in the state, his government had established community-based conflict resolution committees at state, local government/development areas, district and village levels to amicably resolve conflict that might arise from warring parties in community.

Source; https://www.benuepress.com/2018/11/develop-grazing-reserves-to-stop-nasarawa-benue-herder-farmers-crisis-al-makura-to-fg/

Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, has promised to pay any amount agreed upon by the negotiating committee on minimum wage. Ortom stated this on Tuesday in Makurdi, when members of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other sister unions visited him to register their support for the upward review of wages.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the organised labour has proposed a minimum wage of N30,000, vowing to shut down the country if the demand was not met. Ortom, who was represented by his chief of staff, Terwase Orbunde, said that he was not against the upward review of workers’ minimum wages “in spite of the current economic challenges bedeviling the country”.

“I will work in line with the outcome of the new minimum wage committee. I am known for championing improved welfare for workers. I did it when I was the Chairman of Guma Local Government Area. “When I came on board as governor, primary school teachers were not receiving the N18,000.00 minimum wage. I stepped up their salaries without waiting for them to mount pressure on me to do so.

I wanted them to be at par with other civil servants in the state. They did not march in procession before I increased their salaries. I am not against a better life for workers," he said.

NLC president Ayuba Wabba, who was represented on the visit by the national auditor, Simon Anchaver, had earlier urged state and federal governments to accept the N30,000 new minimum wage to avert a total shut down of the country on Nov.6. The State Chairman, TUC, Mr Ordue Tartenger, in his remarks, said that workers should not be forced to protest before they could get basic demands.

Tartenger argued that the minimum wage had to be reviewed upwards because the prices of goods, including fuel, had gone up. “Money has lost its value; prices of all items have gone up and workers cannot afford basic needs of their families,” he fumed.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/minimum-wage-ortom-makes-important-promise-to-benue-people/

Benue governor Samuel Ortom has condoled the family of late Aper Aku, the first civilian governor of the state, over the death of Aku’s wife, Victoria.

Newsmen report that Mrs. Victoria Aku died on Sunday at the Family Practice Hospital, Makurdi. She was aged 77. Ortom, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and ICT, Mr Tahav Agerzua, described the deceased as “a dependable pillar of support to her husband when he led Benue”.

“She was a humble daughter of Benue, who cherished farming and was deep into it to the very end,” he said. The governor prayed God to grant her loved ones the fortitude to bear the loss, and also grant the deceased eternal rest. Newsmen report that Aku served as Benue governor between 1979 and 1983.

NAN also reports that Aku served just three months of his four-year second tenure before the then civilian regime, led by President Shehu Shagari, was overthrown by the military on Dec. 31, 1983. Aku died at a private hospital in Lagos, in 1988, after a protracted illness.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/ortom-mourns-victoria-wife-to-former-benue-gov-aper-aku/

A new Chief Judge (CJ) for Benue, Justice Aondover Ka’Kaan, has been inaugurated. Aged 60, the new CJ now takes over from Justice Adam Onum, who retired from the state service on Oct. 6. Ka’kaan, hails from Gwer East Local Government of Benue state.

The Acting Governor of Benue, Mr Benson Abounu, while conducting the inauguration, on Monday in Makurdi, charged the judge to ensure quick dispensation of justice. He reiterated the old adage that says, “justice delayed is justice denied.”

Abounu, therefore, urged him to ensure that the right thing are done in all circumstances, stressing that the judiciary is the last “hope of a common man.” He also called on him to work hard to surpass the achievements of his predecessors so as to write his name in gold. Abounu said that he was chosen because he was the most senior judge on the bench and because of his impeccable track record of achievements.

He expressed confidence in his ability to deliver quality service to the state as exemplified in the cases he had handled both within and outside the state. Responding, Ka’kaan promised to abide by all the wordings of the oath he took, stressing that oaths are not mere rhetorics but a covenant with God and humanity. ”I will discharge my duties without fear, favour, affection or ill will.

I will eschew corruption and not aid as well as abet it. I will abide by the oath strictly and not go against the constitution. ”This task is a onerous one so, I call for prayers from all of you to enable me succeed,” he said. Ka’kaan attended Mbawuar Secondary School, Ihugh, between 1973 and 1977 where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate (WASC).

The new judge also obtained an Interim Joint Metrication Board (IJMB) certificate from the School of Basic Studies, Ugbokolo. Ka’kaan studied Law at the University of Lagos between 1979 and 1982 where he bagged a Bachelor of Law degree and he was called to the Bar in 1983.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/justice-kakaan-takes-over-as-benue-new-cj/

Calabar Civil Society Organisations in Cross River State, led by Catalyst for Global Peace and Justice Initiative, CPJ, took to the streets of Calabar to protest the continued detention of Leah Sharibu by Boko Haram insurgents as well as the death of a 13-year-old r*pe victim, Elizabeth Ochanya, in Benue State.

The National Coordinator of CPJ, Abraham Aiyedogbon, who led other civil society activists in the protest, said CPJ was disturbed by the failure to secure Leah’s release.

He also said that civil society activists were alarmed at the death of Elizabeth Ochanya. who was a victim of r*pe by her uncle and his son in Benue State. He demanded that the culprits be brought to book.

His words: “CPJ is not taking up the issue of Leah Sharibu because she is a Christian but because she is a human being. Not releasing her is totally unacceptable and Nigerians will not forgive themselves if Sharibu dies in captivity.”

source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/calabar-csos-protest-over-leah-sharibu-and-benue-rpe-victim/

The Benue State Government has reacted to a report that over N33bn funds belonging to local government areas in the state were stolen in three years.

The state described the report as malicious, misleading and fallacious.

Ahangba Ayati, Information Officer, Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, in a statement issued on Tuesday, affirmed that no funds belonging to the Local Government Councils in Benue State have been diverted by the Governor or any other government official, contrary to the claim by the said publication.

Ayati said the claim was a figment of the imagination of the publisher and his paymasters in desperate attempts to smear the hard earned reputation of Governor Samuel Ortom and his administration.

According to him, “The general public may wish to note that the Bureau of Local government and Chieftaincy Affairs carries out disbursements to Local Government Councils based on approvals by the Joint Account Allocation Committee JAAC, which meets monthly to deliberate on such issues based on the accruals from the Federation Account.

“The general public may wish to also note that the Benue State Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has decentralized the payment of Salaries of Workers at the third tier. Monies are sent directly to the accounts of Local Government Councils, who then effect payment of salaries of their various staff.

“The Accountant of the Bureau, Mr. Emmanuel Gbagyo, has neither met in person with the publisher of the article in question, nor has he ever spoken with him. He therefore wonders how the said publisher came across such information, except perhaps, by sheer imagination and desperation to cast aspersions on the Ortom administration.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/benue-govt-speaks-on-alleged-missing-n33bn-lg-funds/

Authorities of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have given all militia groups terrorizing residents of Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa up to December to vacate the states or risk forceful eviction.

The military operation is responsible for maintaining peace and order in the three states currently facing threats of insurgency. Commander of the military operation, Maj.-Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, announced the deadline while speaking to newsmen on Tuesday in Makurdi. Yekini said that insurgents still hiding in areas currently inaccessible in the three states due to rough terrain, would be flushed out before December.

According to him, the rains and the bad roads have halted our advances into the hinterlands where pockets of the insurgents are still hiding. He, however, assured that with the dry season fast approaching, there would be no limits to advances and attacks on the insurgents.

The commander said “so far, we have facilitated a total number of 150, 000 IDPs to their homes in Benue State” and assured that the IDPs would be given adequate protection in their various villages. He said that the herdsmen militia and other militia groups in the state, especially the Gana gang, must vacate the states or risk forceful eviction.

He attributed the delay in the return of some IDPs to their homes to security and socio-economic challenges and appealed to the various state governments to support efforts to resettle the displaced. “It’s not because of security challenges alone that IDPs are not returning home, people are there as economic IDPs because the resources to actually go back on their own without some form of assistance is not available for them.

“So, I think that the state government should be looking at the model that was adopted by Nasarawa state whereby when the people were going back home, the government intervened and provided some seedlings.

“The government also gave them building materials, and even cash, to enable them go back home. “Even those who have returned home, many of them still return to the camps to eat in the day time.

“They’re not permanently in the camp; many of them are just there because of lack of resources for them to return to their homes and not because of security,” Yekini explained. He also confirmed the killing of the wife of Gana and 12 members of his gang, adding that the operation had neutralized no fewer than 100 criminal elements in the state.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/military-gives-militia-december-to-vacate-benue-taraba-nasarawa/

A Professor of Biological Science at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Frank Onyezili, has committed suicide.

It was gathered that the lecturer, who left a note behind, may have taken his life due to frustration resulting from family problems.

A source from the institution told our correspondent that the aged professor had been complaining for a long time about being abandoned by the family.

He was said to have been living alone in his apartment within the institution.

The source said, “One thing I noticed is that the lecturer had been complaining of not having adequate care and he was ageing.”

The Director of Information, University of Agriculture, Mrs Roseline Waku, confirmed the incident, stating that the note ought to be in the custody of the police.

Waku stated that the professor committed suicide on Friday last week.

When contacted, the police spokesman, Moses Yamu, said he was not aware of the incident.

Source: https://www.benuepress.com/2018/10/fuam-lecturer-commits-suicide-in-benue/