The Presidency has asked Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to tell the people of the state why he has not paid salaries of workers and pensions instead of his current campaign of alsehoods concerning President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement today, Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, decried Governor Ortom’s campaign designed to stir division and hatred, and divert the people’s attention from his inability to pay staff salaries and pensions for several months.
“It has been noted that the governor has been visiting churches in the state where he falsely tells congregations about President Buhari’s so-called plans to Islamise Benue State. This nonsense has formed the basis of his campaign, because he has nothing to offer Benue people.”
Garba Shehu regretted that despite the support the governor received from the Federal Government, which supported his grazing laws as a means to end the farmer-herder crises that have plagued the state he would have faced resistance from different sources and found it difficult to implement.
“While advising Ortom to immediately stop his dubious attacks on President Buhari, the Federal Government calls on the people of Benue State to not fall for Ortom’s deception and allow themselves to be hoodwinked by such a negative campaign.
“They should instead, ask him why he has refused to pay staff salaries and pensions for months, and what he did with the funding from the excess crude account which should ideally have gone towards addressing such payments.”
