Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, has clarified comment on citizens of “drinking beer” and sleeping all day, saying he was referring to members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
In a statement on Saturday, Nathaniel Ikyur, chief press secretary to the governor, said the story is “mischievous misrepresentation and an attempt to ridicule the person of the governor”.
“We wish to state categorically that the news, especially the caption is a completely mischievous misrepresentation and an attempt to ridicule the person of the governor,” the statement reads.
“The Governor was clear that most Benue people know and do appreciate the great developmental strides he is doing for them. He regretted that some of those who insult, blackmail, or castigate him unnecessarily, specifically are a few and from the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC who sit in beer parlours for long hours and have conditioned their minds to malign him no matter how much he has done.
“He was clear how these APC supporters do that without cogent or issue-based criticisms but simply out of mischief. He was also clear that critics of his administration should offer constructive criticisms as he does to the federal government.
“At that function in question, which was the Dedication and Inaugural Service of RCN Embassy Church, Makurdi, Governor Ortom specifically asked the people of Benue State and indeed Nigerians to continue to pray for him and other leaders including President Muhammadu Buhari rather than always criticising him. He quoted from the Bible where the scriptures asked Christians to pray for their leaders and all those in authority.”
The statement added that Ortom acknowledges how the people of Benue have in 2015 and 2019 displayed very clearly that they love him by voting for him first as governor And by re-electing him overwhelmingly for the second term.
“The governor, whenever he has an opportunity, acknowledges the determination, hard work, and industrious nature of every Benue man and woman, young or old, and the support Benue people have given him since 2015 if not, the APC led federal government may have eliminated him,” it adds.
“It is therefore a figment of the imagination of the reporter to want to twist the Governor’s words out of context to pitch the people of the state against the Governor with this disrespectful publication. The public should therefore discountenance that report.”
