Northern govs went to Benue to dance, spit on the graves of the massacred, not for condolence —PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted the Northern Governors’ Forum for their recent condolence visit to Benue State 18 days after no less than 73 indigenes of the state were massacred by suspected herdsmen in Logo and Guma local government areas of the state.

The party which said the visit by the governors was no longer about condolence but to dance and spit on the graves of those slaughtered by bandits, wondered how it took the All Progressives Congress (APC) government 18 days to send a delegation to Benue State.

The party tweeted, “The visits by the @APCNigeria governors to Makurdi, Benue State, was no longer about condolence but to dance and spit on the graves of those slaughtered by bandits.

“It took 18 days of begging by the @OfficialPDPNig for the governors to consider visiting the state.

“It is also outrageous and disheartening for @Mbuhari to summon the bereaved to Aso Rock instead of visiting them.

“This is an insult on our collective sensibility as a people. The bereaved are always visited not summoned”.

The attack by the PDP is coming just as a group, Benue Advancement Forum (BAF) has said that the Northern Governors’ Forum visit to the state, 18 days after killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen was a mockery and face saving act, and called on them to apologize to the people of Benue.

The group led by its chairman, Professor David Iornem, condemned the northern governors’ visit during its solidarity visit to Governor Samuel Ortom, in Makurdi, the state capital on Saturday.

The group wondered in an address presented by its deputy chairman and former Minister of State for Education, Professor Jerry Agada, why it took the northern governors a long time to pay a condolence visit on their colleague who lost many lives in wanton killings.

The group said, “We are equally curious that the visit of the governors came only after a delegation of Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, South-South and Middle Belt socio-cultural groups had visited Benue to commiserate with the government and people of the state.

“We therefore demand an apology from the governors because they only came to mock us over the unfortunate incident that befell us as a people.

“BAF condemn the recent herdsmen attacks on children, women and defenseless other people in Guma and Logo and we fault the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari over the killings, we urge the Federal Government to arrest those behind the genocide and declare herdsmen as a terrorist organisation.

“BAF will also want to state that we do not trust the intentions of the Federal Government in sending troops to Benue even as the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has not come out clearly to support the anti-open grazing law in Benue. It seems that the government does not believe that Benue State House of Assembly has any right to make laws that are acceptable and beneficial to protect the interest of Benue citizens.”

READ ALSO: I have no tribal or religious bias, my appointments prove this- Buhari

On the anti-open grazing law in the state, the group urged Governor Ortom to maintain the stand of the state against open grazing, saying that it is the best solution to lasting peace in the country.

In his response, the governor appreciated BAF members for the visit and promised that his government would not give up in its resolve to ensure the return of peace and security to the troubled areas of the state recently attacked by herdsmen.

The governor further insisted that the security agencies should arrest the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other groups suspected to be sponsors of the New Year killings in the state.

 

 

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