Tag: Ortom

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has urged abductors of the News Editor of Radio Benue, Mrs. Yuadoo Tor-Agbidye, to release her.
Ortom made the call in Abuja yesterday shortly after he arrived from the United Kingdom.
He described the incident as unfortunate, and sympathised with the Tor-Agbidye family, on behalf of the government people of the state.
The governor stressed the need for the people to volunteer information to security agencies to help in the rescue of Mrs. Tor-Agbidye.
He promised that the joint efforts of the government, police and other security operatives to free Mrs. Tor-Agbidye would yield success.
The governor reiterated his administration’s commitment not to surrender Benue to hoodlums, emphasising that the state is not home for robbers and kidnappers.

THE Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Terver Akase, has said that the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom has been vindicated following a statement by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, that the Federal Government has not disbursed $4 billion to the 36 states of the federation as refund of Paris and London Clubs over deductions.

Akase, who spoke with newsmen in Makurdi, yesterday, said the clarification by the Federal Government has affirmed the fact that the Ortom administration is sincere in all its pronouncements and actions. He stressed that the development has further exposed the reports published by members of the opposition that the state government had received N91 billion as it share of the refund, a lie he said was purposefully peddled to tarnish the good image of the present administration.

The Chief Press Secretary said now that the people of the state have known who is telling the truth about the Paris and London Clubs funds, they will better appreciate the sincerity of the Samuel Ortom administration and easily detect falsehood, which he said is a preoccupation of the Benue opposition. Akase said more worrisome was the insinuation by a serving senator who is expected to have known the truth, but deliberately chose to play politics with the issue that the states had received the funds. He urged the people to sustain the trust they have in Governor Ortom and his administration, assuring that the governor is committed to his resolve to be transparent, and that as soon as the expected 25% of the $181 billion refund of over deductions on Paris and London Clubs loan gets to the state, the people will adequately be informed.

Benue State governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has called on the federal government to develop framework which could make Benue State to be at par with other states that would benefit from the proposed North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The National Assembly had penultimate Tuesday passed a bill for the establishment of the NEDC, wherein the Senate proposed welfare packages for the states of North East Nigeria, including Kano and Taraba, which have been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking at the commissioning and handing over of the Guma Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Shelter Project built jointly by the State government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR) for internally displaced persons from Benue, Taraba, and Adamawa states; Governor Ortom also appealed to other donors to include Benue State in their scheme of things.

“Based on data from the International Office of Migration, Benue State is the worst hit state in Nigeria outside of the North Eastern states with about 700,000 people directly displaced, some 450,000 people, though not directly displaced, yet suffering various degrees of inconveniences and rights abuses,” Ortom said.

Governor Ortom who was represented by his deputy, Engr. Benson Abounu, said “12 out of the 23 LGAs in the state are affected, and are still suffering the impact of the displacement with Agatu and Logo in worst monumental dimension.”

Ortom who used the occasion to reiterate Benue’s rejection of grazing reserves, affirmed the position that ranching, done by the individual cattle owners, without government over-bearing interference is the solution to the incessant herdsmen/farmers clashes in the country.

The event was attended by the deputy governor of Adamawa State, Hon. Martins Babale, and many top government functionaries and representatives of international organizations and agencies.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has signed the amended Local Government Elections Bill into law.

At the signing yesterday, Ortom said the law empowered him to appoint sole administrators to run the councils.

He noted that the law is a major milestone of his administration in overcoming challenges of funding local government elections.

Ortom, who signed the bill during an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders meeting in Makurdi, directed stakeholders to nominate candidates.

He, however, urged them to ensure that such nominations were based on the zoning of offices in their localities.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has praised the Police for fighting crime in the state.

Ortom spoke when the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Zone 4, comprising Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa states, Agboola Oshodi-Glover, visited him at the Benue People’s House, yesterday.

The governor noted that the police have stopped criminals from making governance a difficult task, and said they should arrest Terwase Akwaza, alias ‘Gana’, a notorious criminal.

He said whoever shields ‘Gana’ would be doing a disservice to the country and urged the people to support and cooperate with the police.

Ortom congratulated Oshodi-Glover for his promotion to  AIG, promising that the state will assist Zone 4 and the state’s command.

Oshodi-Glover praised the governor for keeping in touch with the police.

He said reports by the Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama, showed the governor has been doing great things for security agencies, and urged him to keep it up.

The AIG promised that the police will work to reduce crime in Benue.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday returned from a trip to the United Nations 71st General Assembly in New York, the United States of America.

He arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 5.05am, aboard a British Airways aircraft. His Special Adviser, Media and Information Communication Technology Tahav Agerzua and Senior Special Assistant, Special Duties Abraham’s Kwaghngu, were with him.

While in the US, Ortom presented a paper on Experiences in multi-stakeholders’ engagement in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, at a side event of the Assembly. He canvassed the involvement of stakeholders across all sectors in the implementation of projects of the scheme.

The governor also attended another side event on climate change, which was organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment and attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of the Environment, Amina Mohammed.

At the close of the Assembly, the Benue community in New York hosted Ortom to a dinner and he assured them of his determination to reduce the state’s wage bill to a level where payment of salaries would be sustainable through the elimination of ghost workers and renegotiation with major stakeholders.

Ortom vowed that efforts in the provision of security have yielded positive results and reduced crime. He added that the permanent solution to the perennial farmers and herder’s clashes remained ranching, noting that a bill prohibiting open grazing in the state had been forwarded to the House of Assembly.

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Benue State has scored Governor Samuel Ortom high for approving money to pay local government retirees.

NULGE President Comrade Terungwa Igbe spoke on behalf of the union after its State Executive Council meeting in Makurdi.

He said Ortom’s decision to release N200 million to pay the retirees, who were yet to enjoy their entitlements in the last five years, will reduce their hardship.

Igbe praised the government for taking steps to revive the economy, noting that Ortom’s decision to declare Fridays work-free for workers to engage in farming would  enhance food security.

He appealed to the governor to direct the Local Government Service Commission to promote deserving workers even as he promised NULGE’s support to the government.