Group to Presidency: You‘ve no justification to blackmail Ortom

A Benue group under the aegis of Zone A People’s Assembly (ZAPA) has cautioned the Presidency to desist from blackmailing Governor Samuel Ortom, declaring amongst other things that it lacks justification to criticize or blackmail the governor.

The group in a statement issued Sunday challenged the presidency to rather address sensitive issues of insecurity, inflation and rising unemployment in the country raised by the governor.

The reaction by the group followed the recent press release by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Garba Shehu, who in the group’s words, “tried to mock the Benue State Governor over his recent interview on Arise TV”.

In a press statement titled “Stop Intimidating Governor Samuel Ortom,” issued in Makurdi, the group asked the presidency to desist from blackmailing the governor saying, “Ortom has not done any wrong by advising the President.”

ZAPA regretted that each time the governor challenges the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government on specific issues, especially those bothering on insecurity, Garba Shehu would always abandon the issues and indulge in ignoble acts of blackmail in order to intimidate the governor to cheap submission.

The statement which was jointly signed by Fannen Mondo and J T Ornguga, president and secretary of the group, respectively said
“Just recently, the Governor of Katsina state, Aminu Masari called on the people of the state to take up arms and defend themselves against the terrorists in their state. This is the President’s state. Nobody said anything to him.

“The Governor has not disappointed Benue people. He has put in place so much infrastructure on the ground. Many township roads have received attention. Many rural roads have been taken care of, while others are still under construction and rehabilitation amongst others.”