Ortom asks FG to stop killer herdsmen and declare them a terrorist group

Abiodun OBA

The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday, has appealed to appeal to the Federal Government to stop the killer herdsmen and declare them a terrorist group.

Ortom lamented the rising state of insecurity that has engulfed the education sector in the state and Nigeria as a whole.

The Governor made the appeal at the virtual handing over and commissioning of the Government Science and Technical College, Gbajimba, Guma Local Government Area (LGA), of the state; his country home.

According to him, “Security is a mandatory responsibility of every government. I want to appreciate the recent effort made by the government in nipping insecurity in the bud especially in the state but it should be sustained.

“I also appreciate the effort of security agencies who are sacrificing their lives to ensure peace in our state. Federal Government should do massive recruitment and adequate funding of security agencies so that they can put in their best in securing the lives of Nigerians.

“I will not keep quiet and allow some group of people chase my people away from their homes and continue to make them IDPs. Gbajimba has over 500,000 IDPs. I appeal to the Federal Government to stop these herdsmen and declare them a terrorist group.

“They should stop the killing and destruction of our property. I will not engage any militia group but seek for justice of my people”, he stressed.

Ortom lamented the falling standard of education that led to the increase in the number of out-of-school children, and hailed the quality of work on the classroom blocks donated by Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a Chevron company) in collaboration with some partners, including Famfa, Prime and Equinor.

He also stated that his administration plans to leave behind a sound education system in the state which is the foundation on which development stands.

The Governor revealed that Benue state government has so far renovated and upgraded about 64 Secondary Schools across the state as part of its measure to uplift the standard of education.

He noted that education remains the bedrock for the growth and development of any nation and lauded the oil companies for investing in the education sector as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.