Insecurity: There May Be No 2023 Elections- Ortom
Seventy-two hours after narrowly escaping death in the hands of alleged armed herders, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, Tuesday, sounded the alarm bell on insecurity, saying the 2023 general elections may not hold if the problem is not solved.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Ortom also warned the political class to preoccupy themselves with how to solve the worsening security situation that was threatening the unity of the country and forget about the 2023 election.
He said: “I want to let Nigerians know, especially those who are responsible for making inflammatory statements; we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Everybody is not in doubt in Nigeria today about the security situation and without security, there can be no meaningful progress going on.
“So, it is important to put heads together, do the things that are lawful, let us protect the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria so that everybody will be secure. If I can’t go to the farm as governor with entire security around me then who else can go to the farm? You can imagine the pains we are going through in Benue State. I appreciate the security personnel attached to me, they were able to repel them and they could not have access to me.”
The governor, still rattled by weekend’s assassination attempt on him by about 15 gunmen in his state, told newsmen that he had deep discussions with President Buhari on the attack on him and security situation in the country.
“Let there be equity, fairness and justice. That is what I stand for. That is what I am fighting. I do not want to talk about the recommendations shared with Mr. President. I have been able to recommend some measures, and they have agreed that no person or group should be a sacred cow. If people are found wanting, they should be prosecuted, the police should prosecute them.”
He, however, charged the political class, especially those in elective offices, to work together to save the country from the crippling insecurity besetting it on all fronts.
He said: “It is not just enough to say that one criticises the policies of the President, but when he does a good thing, it is our responsibility to team up with him to ensure that it’s done because it is when we are peaceful, when we have security, that we can talk about tomorrow.
“I want to also appeal to Nigerians, 2023, yes to a politician is not far, but it’s still a long way. If we secure our country and everything is working fine, then we can talk about 2023, but the way things are going if we don’t secure the country, there is no way we can be talking about 2023.
“For me, I want us as leaders of this country, who have taken Oath of Office, let us abide by those things we have said, work together as a team, leave politics aside, leave ethnicity aside and secure the country. We have no other country other than Nigeria. We cannot go to Cameroon or Senegal or any other country and claim responsibility.”
On insinuations that the reported assassination attempt on him was stage-managed, Ortom dismissed the comments as wild insinuations and expressed sadness over such thoughts, wondering why he would need to fake an attack on himself and what benefits he stood to gain from claiming what did not happen.
The distraught governor proceeded to pray that his predicament in the hands of the attackers does not befall his worst enemies. He said: “I want to advise, like Mr. President did advise when he was condemning the attack on me, and pleaded with Nigerians that they should not politicise this matter. I want to appeal, I want to beg everyone that we should not politicise the issue of attempted assassination on myself.
“If a governor is attacked, then it is an attack on all. And I appreciate my colleagues, the governors, irrespective of party affiliation. All of them by way of call or text messages or press statement, have communicated to me condemning this attack. That is how it should be. We should know when to play politics and we should know when to team up together to salvage the country.”
