Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has warned Nigerians against making rash or provocative remarks on the nation’s security problems.
According to Nathaniel Ikyur, the governor’s chief press secretary, the warning was delivered on Monday in Lafia during a visit to express his condolences to Alhaji Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, over the loss of his son Hassan Sule.
Ortom, who shared the governor’s sorrow over the event and the previous killings in Nasarawa state, pleaded with people to refrain from saying things that can cause misunderstandings.
I want to ask everyone, especially those in high places, to refrain from saying things that would exacerbate the issue, cause misunderstanding, and cast blame on individuals. I really don’t like it when highly responsible individuals make statements instead of attempting to figure out what happened,” Ortom said.
He emphasized that “as Governors, our lines are at the service of the public,” saying that rather than making frank declarations, people may independently confirm any claim. Instead of making provocative claims that are unsupported, people can contact us through our assistants and security officers.
The Governor asserted that “in Nigeria today, we have a general security issue that should not be left in the sole discretion of the President or Governors.
“To overcome the obstacles, we must work together with the leadership and have the support of the entire population on security-related issues.
Therefore, despite our feelings, we must work together to uphold the rule of law and respect for human dignity at all times.
The Governor stated that there wouldn’t be any significant advancement or growth without security.
Invoking God to grant the governor of Nasarawa State the strength to bear the loss of his son and the deaths of all those who had recently occurred in the state, he expressed condolences on behalf of the government and people of Benue State and urged him to accept it as “the will of God who gives and takes life.”
The Emir of Lafia, Justice Muhammad Sidi Bage (rtd), responded on behalf of the family and thanked Governor Ortom for the visit, characterizing it as proof of the longstanding comradery and unity between Benue and Nasarawa states.
The line between the two states, he said, was merely artificial because they were one entity and one people through intermarriage and shared the same blood, as he recalled the long history of links between Nasarawa and Benue dating back to colonial times.
