Buhari is President of Fulani, not President of Nigeria, says Benue Gov.
Buhari is President of Fulani, not President of Nigeria, says Benue Gov.
By Lukeman Sulaiman
President Mohammadu Buhari is the President of Fulani, not the President of Nigeria, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has said. An official in Markurdi told Irohinoodua that Ortum is almost overwhelmed by the lack of protection for people of Benue in the midst of killings carried out by Fulani herdsmen.
He spoke in Makurdi during a press conference. He was responding to the incessant killings of Tiv and Idoma in the Middle Belt state which he governs. Ortom asked President Buhari to resign and hand over to his deputy, President Yemi Osinbajo. He said ‘Buhari is the President of Fulani, not the President of Nigeria.’ The Governor said appointments he sought with Buhari were rebuffed by officials adding that Benue State has been denied many opportunities due to isolation by the Presidency. In the past, Federal Government officials accused Ortom of sensationalism.
He said “The APC-led government has completely failed to fulfil the promises it made to Nigerians in 2015. I was part of the people who elected President Buhari and we worked very hard for it.
“I was part of those who worked for the President in 2015 based on the promises he gave to us that he would be the President for everybody and for nobody. But today, we have seen clearly that he is the President of the Fulani people as we continue to witness the level of nepotism going on in this country.
“Every day you wake up, the Fulani, with the consent of the Federal Government, make life unbearable for my people. I know that it’s happening in other states of the federation, but I am talking about my state, where I’m elected as the governor to provide good governance and security of lives and property.
“The Federal Government has failed; so, I call on President Buhari to accept that he has failed the country and he should honourably resign as the President of Nigeria and hand over to his deputy, because the way things are going in the country, if the President does not rise to his responsibility, the nation will drift into anarchy.”
Ortom said further “The Federal Government has the coercive power to protect lives and property. States and local governments depend on the Federal Government, because it controls the security apparatuses.
“My people are mostly peasant farmers, who carry out their farming activities, but herdsmen have made life miserable for them.
“Let God help us, but we must act; we need action and my people have told me what to do and it is not for public consumption. But we will take steps to stop it; enough is enough. Benue people are not fools; we will defend ourselves and I will take the lead.”