Benue lawmakers caution Sen Akume against opposing Gov Ortom

The PDP Benue caucus in the House of Representatives has cautioned Senator George Akume against his utterances concerning the governor of the state, Samuel Ortom.

The caucus also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to honour the N10 billion pledged to the state to resettle Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

This was contained in a statement issued by the caucus during a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja while imploring the president to honour the N10 billion he promised.

Rep Mark Gbillah, leader of the caucus said it was displeased with the language deployed by Mr George Akume, former governor of the state when he addressed a news conference on Aug. 30.

At the news conference, Akume asked the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on Benue State over alleged failure of leadership on the part of Gov. Samuel Ortom.

Gbillah said that the caucus rejected the call for a state of emergency while calling on Akume to exercise caution and embrace dialogue with the state government.

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“What we expected Akume to do was to ensure that the N10 billion promised by the Federal Government to resettle the IDPs was released.

“The caucus wishes to state clearly that what Gov. Ortom as the Benue leader has been saying on insecurity in Benue are the collective opinions of Benue people.

“This is not the personal opinion of the governor and should not be personalised.

“The caucus also rejects Akume’s call for the disbandment of the Livestock Guards in the implementation of the Benue Anti-Open Grazing Act,’’ he said.

He appealed to Akume, as one of the leaders in the state to eschew his disagreement with the governor and embrace efforts to end attacks on innocent citizens and indigenes of the state.

Gbillah called on all traditional rulers, political leaders and neutral persons, with the interest of Benue at heart to intervene and foster unity for the common good of the state.

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