From Tony John, Port Harcourt

Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, has commended his Benue counterpart, Samuel Ortom, for standing firmly to defend his people against terrorist herdsmen.

He maintained that nothing depicts failure of governance than the inability of   any government saddled with responsibility of protecting life and  property to do so.

Wike stated this during the commissioning of some road projects constructed by Governor Ortom in Makurdi  and Guma local government areas of Benue State, yesterday.

He said he was not surprised that Ortom was fulfilling his pledge to provide dividends of democracy like the 41 kilometre road  linking Makurdi and Guma LGAs, to the people of Benue State despite efforts by terrorists plot to destabilise the State.

“We must fight against injustice in the country. Ortom is not one of those governors who will shy away from standing for the truth. Ortom, stood firm when his people were being killed. The major cardinal of governance is protection of life and property. If you cannot protect life of your people and property, governance is zero,” he stated.

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Governor Wike said because Ortom stood firm to speak against abandonment of his people by the Federal Government, he was bullied and intimidated by his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Rivers governor used the occasion to dismiss insinuation that Ortom was on the verge of defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Today, in this country, there is total insecurity and then people are telling you Ortom is moving to where he nearly died? Who digs his grave? Does any man dig his grave? God brought him out of the wilderness. When he was longing, seeking for shelter and water to drink and God provided him a platform. And after he had suffered and brought his people back from the wilderness, then some people are coming to say he is coming backing. Coming back to where?”

He described Ortom as a man of  character who had passed through difficulties in his political career in a bid to defend and protect his people, which is the essence of governance.

“I knew what happened, and you stood firm to show that this is the type of leadership we need in this country and that is why your people can come back today to start rebuilding where the terrorists came to destroy. My coming  here to support  you is not only because we are friends, but because I cannot stand injustice. Whether anybody likes it or not, I will continue in my life to fight injustice because nobody is a third class citizen of this county. All of us have equal rights in this country, so let nobody be deceived that there are people who are born to be first class and there are people who were born to be third class”,  Wike declared.