The Presidency had on Wednesday accused Mr Ortom of denigrating Nigeria’s security agencies by claiming that Mr Buhari ordered security forces not to move against criminal herdsmen.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue Nigerians from criminal gangs holding them to ransom.
Mr Ortom was reacting to a statement by the presidency on Wednesday, accusing the governor of denigrating Nigeria’s security agencies by claiming that Mr Buhari ordered security forces not to move against criminal herdsmen.
Benue and most North-central states of Nigeria have been in the grip of armed herdsmen, maiming and killing the locals.
Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement, challenged Mr Ortom to mention those military personnel who told him that Mr Buhari had ordered security forces not to move against criminal herdsmen.
According to Mr Shehu, in a period of heightened insecurity, politicians should be working to bring the nation closer together, not risking further violence by “dishonestly seeking” to further divide Nigerians along ethnic or religious lines.”
But in a statement, on Thursday, by Nathaniel Ikyur, his media aide, Mr Ortom asked Mr Buhari and his “government to redeem its battered image by rescuing Nigerians from the apron strings of bandits, kidnappers and terrorists who are having a field day in the country.”
“If I raised a false alarm, why have the Fulani terrorists who are veiled as herdsmen continued to kidnap and kill Nigerians unchallenged? How many of the terrorists and bandits have been apprehended and prosecuted? The Buhari administration cannot extricate itself from complicity regarding the evil visited on citizens of this country,” the statement added.
Mr Ortom also took a swipe at Mr Shehu when he branded him as an “opportunistic politician.”
“Shehu should be told that I rose to become a Local Government Chairman, State Publicity Secretary of National Centre Party of Nigeria; State Treasurer of All People’s Party, State Secretary as well as State Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Auditor of PDP, Minister of the Federal Republic and now a two-term Governor. If Shehu thinks it is easy to win elections, he should test his popularity by contesting a councillorship position in his local government area.”
He said, “no amount of blackmail, persecution and media attack can discourage him from speaking against the injustice and pain the present government has caused Nigerians.”
He advised the Presidency to focus on ending the killings of innocent Nigerians, fix the economy as it promised and stop the stinking corruption on their watch.