From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
BENUE State Governor, Samuel Ortom has said his administration would not be discouraged by the seeming rise in crime in the state. Ortom insisted that the killings would only be for a short while.
The governor, who stated this at a prayer session at the Chapel of Grace, Benue People’s House, maintained that his family would continue to rely on God in this trying times and added that the killing of his Senior Special Assistant on Security, Mr Denen Igbana, will not scare his administration.
“If it was someone else, he would have gone for a ‘babalawo,’ but, for me, I will rely on God in these challenging times,” he reiterated.
He expressed assurance that those who had a hand in Denen Igbana’s death would be exposed because he (late Igbana) anchored the amnesty programme and rescued many of those abducted without the payment of ransom.
“As I stand on the altar of God, I say anyone who had a hand in his death will reap what he has sowed,” Ortom emphasised.
The governor admitted that his administration was facing challenges in the area of salaries and explained that the federal allocation was N2 billion in February while in March and April, it dropped to N1.7 billion and N1.4 billion respectively.
Ortom, who declared that these were indeed trying times for his administration explained that workers’ salaries, pension and overhead costs stood at N4 billion but assured that no enemy would triumph over him.
He urged Christians in the state to fortify themselves with prayers and declared that anybody waiting to see if his administration would fail would be put to shame.