A socio-cultural pressure group, Tiv Youth Council Worldwide (TYCW), has told Benue Governor Samuel Ortom to stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for his failures and face the assignment for which he was elected.
The group, in a statement by its President, Hon. Mike Musaan, in Abuja on Wednesday, said after a preview of his performance in the last six years, it concluded the Governor “failed woefully”.
It noted that Ortom’s continuous attack on the performance of President Buhari remains a diversionary ploy intended to distract the people of the State from questioning his abysmal performance.
The group wondered why a Governor who ranks the least and has virtually done nothing will always pick the President who has done a lot for the people of the State as a tool for driving his political ambition in the face of many challenges Benue is grappling with under his watch.
The group challenged the Governor to mention the ongoing or completed projects to his credit for the public to compare notes.
“Ortom consistently reminds Buhari of his campaign promises to Nigerians while forgetting that he cried in churches over the plight of workers and pensioners, a situation that is worse under him. Under Ortom, old pensioners slept outside Govt House gate for two weeks. This is indeed novel yet the Governor has failed to tackle the problem head-on.
“We are particularly pained that instead of explaining to the Benue people the position of the state wage bill which keeps pushing astronomically high, despite transfers, retirements, and deaths of civil servants in the state and amid the several committees set up by the Governor to check the wage bill which instead declared workers ghosts and sacked thousands of them would recourse to revulsive accusations during a one hour program when the Benue people are patiently waiting to hear the Governor highlight his achievements and endear them to his plans of ending their misery, would rather consider the President as a punching bag.
“More so, we consider his comment on the sale of Benue’s public assets as deceit taken too far. Ortom who had since commenced the sale of advertised assets during the interview said he was going to convene a stakeholders’ meeting to inform them of his plans.
“In a usual fashion, we understand this is intended to gag stakeholders with offers for endorsement of what has already gone beyond redemption. It is worrying that a Governor who wasted taxpayer’s monies gallivanting the globe in the name of wooing investors to no avail will resort to selling assets built by other governors when he has not been able to erect any structure.
“Everybody must rise and be bold to resist any attempt by the Governor to further mortgage the destiny of our people before he takes the state to where recovery will take us so many years to come by.”
Continuing, the group added: “We have observed overtime that his constant tantrums against the President who has done more projects in the state in any juxtaposition with the Governor, as a diversionary ploy intended to distract the people from his abysmal performance which has left no one in doubt to conclude and rightly so, that he is the worst-performing Governor in the history of Benue state.
“The Council notes that Governor Ortom has not demonstrated love for the Benue people more than PMB. Within these years Buhari has in addition to giving several Benue people appointments, constructed a multi-billion erosion control that runs through Achusa, PMB has awarded the Yandev – Makurdi Road, the Yandev to Ugbema junction road, the Makurdi – Naka – Adoka road, the rehabilitation of The River Benue and River Katsina-ala Bridges.
READ ALSO: Again, Ortom rejects grazing routes in Benue
“Mr President has upgraded the Zaki Biam Yam market in Ukum LGA to an international yam market. We expect a serious governor to take advantage of this initiative and several other agricultural initiatives of the President.
“In the education sector, President Buhari has in a no mean feat established three federal institutions in the state: the Federal University of Health Science Otukpo, the Federal College of Education, and the Federal Polytechnic Wannabe.
“Worthy of note is the skills acquisition centres to be located in Adikpo and other senatorial zones.
“Under the health sector the 100 bed, Mother and Child health facility at David Mark by-pass, Makurdi, the Federal Medical Center annex, in Katsina-ala and other places.
“The Social Investment Programme of the Buhari administration has empowered many Benue indigenes. The Social Works Program which has 1000 persons per local government area including Ortom LGA is there for everyone to see. The Covid-19 loans enjoyed by many Benue people and Nigerians attest to the manner PMB has touched positively the lives of Nigerians.
“In the housing sector, PMB is currently building a Federal Housing scheme located at Genabe, in Makurdi LGA.”
Leave a Reply