OBINNA EZUGWU
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has advised Fulani herdsmen who do not wish to obey the laws of the state to relocate to Bauchi State with their AK-47 rifles.
Ortom who gave the advice while addressing journalists in Markurdi at the weekend, as captured in a video by Channels TV, berated Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed over his insistence that Fulani herdsmen should carry AK-47 for self-defence.
The Benue governor insisted that Nigeria and Benue State are governed by laws, and that anyone who doesn’t want to obey such laws should leave the state.
Referring to Mohammed’s justification for herders carrying AK-47, Ortom argued that, “that’s is not how to run government. Maybe he (Mohammed) has not had time to see the castigation he received from Nigerians when he insisted that Fulani herdsmen must carry AK-47 and can live anywhere. Nigeria is not a banana republic. It is governed by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”
Ortom argued that, “the constitution gives power to governors in all the states preside over the land of their states on behalf of the people. They are the only people who can give allocation and permit people to stay where they are.
“So, bandits cannot find the forest and come in to hide in those forests. I want to tell those bandits Fulani men, they should not come to Benue State, they should and stay with him.
“Benue State is governed by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. Benue State also has laws. So, anybody, if you are a Fulani and you come legitimately, you are free to stay in Benue State and do business according to the laws of our land.”
“Anybody who is not willing to do that should go and meet Bala Mohammed. There, you can carry AK-47.”
Gallant officer! Unlike some juvenile governors