From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Governorship aspirant for the 2023 general election in Benue State, Mr Terver Akase has opined that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration has abandoned the people of the state to be slaughtered like animals by Fulani herders.
Akase who stated this in a chat with newsmen who in Makurdi on Wednesday wondered why the Presidency is quick to sympathize with other states affected by violence but has not issued even a single statement to sympathize with the government and people of Benue State following coordinated attacks by herdsmen in Guma, Logo and Tarka which led to the killing of 25 persons, on Monday night.
“Just this morning, we read a statement from the presidency sympathizing with the people of Plateau State, which is the right thing to do. We also sympathize with the people of Plateau State. But we are shocked that two days after coordinated attacks took place in Benue, affecting Guma, Logo and Tarka local government areas, the presidency has not deemed it necessary to sympathize with the people of Benue State, and we are wondering; is Benue no longer part of this country? Why has the Federal Government chosen to abandon the people of the state?”
The gubernatorial hopeful therefore, described the silence of the Presidency over the killings in Benue as betrayal of the people’s trust and votes which brought President Buhari to power in 2015 and retained him in 2019.
“Mr President owes us an explanation. Benue voted for him in 2015 and 2019. That means Benue people love Mr President. Our people deserve to be protected too, and if anything is happening here and the Federal Government looks the other way then we feel like orphans,” he said.
The former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom also enjoined the Presidency to stop treating Benue like a people who are only useful during elections.
He emphasized that the state also deserves to be protected and assisted to rise from the ruins of sustained herders attacks, the same way the North East is being assisted to overcome the damage caused by Boko Haram.
Akase further lamented the failure of the federal government to fulfil the promise it made since May 2018 through the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo that it would release N10 billion for the resentment of displaced people in Benue and other affected states.
He applauded the untiring efforts of Governor Samuel Ortom to see to the end of the attacks on his people, describing the Governor as a leader who stands for equity, truth and justice.
Akase also commiserated with families of victims of the attacks in Tarka, Logo and Guma, praying God to grant their loved ones who lost their lives eternal rest and those injured, a quick recovery.