Buhari disappointed in Ortom, says presidential aide

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Thursday said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has expressed “disappointment and sadness” to hear the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, make a litany of accusations against his person and his government following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state.

Shehu said this in a statement titled, ‘Governor Ortom only sees the problems of others, he doesn’t see his own,’ made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

Recall that Ortom had on Tuesday accused Buhari of working for the Fulani ethnic stock to take over Nigeria.

The governor,  who spoke in reaction to the recent killing of residents allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen in parts of the North-Central state,  also lamented that no fewer than 70 people have been killed in the last two weeks in three local governments in the state.

But Shehu, in the statement, said the lives of fellow citizens should not be desecrated by deploying them in political diatribe which appeared to be the intent of the emotional attacks on the President by Ortom.

The statement read in part, “He (Buhari) also states his disappointment and sadness to hear Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, make a litany of accusations against his person and his government of following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state.

“No responsible government takes pleasure in such events as the killing of the military and that of innocent citizens taking refuge in an Internally Displaced People’s camp.

“President Buhari is deeply pained by the terrible acts of violence happening not only in Benue State but also in other parts of the country and expects that the law enforcement agencies will go to every possible extent to catch the perpetrators of these heinous acts and bring them to justice.

“The lives of fellow citizens should not be desecrated by deploying them in political diatribe which unfortunately appeared to be the intent of the string of emotional attacks and blame laid at the doors of the President for those killings by Governor Ortom.

“President Buhari took an oath to defend the life and property of every citizen, a duty he takes seriously and is committed to ensuring.”