Governor Ortom Meets UK Parliament Delegation, Reports Buhari, FG

• Members of the United Kingdom parliament have been urged to prevail on the Nigerian government to bring an end to the incessant killings by herdsmen in Benue state
• The call was made by the governor of the state, Samuel Ortom when a delegation from the parliament visited him in Abuja, Nigeria's capital territory
• Ortom informed the delegation that for such killings and displacement of residents to end, the Nigerian government must treat the issue rightly without religious or ethnic bias

The governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom on Tuesday, May 31, met with a delegation from the United Kingdom parliament at the Benue State Governor's Lodge Asokoro, Abuja.

Speaking to the delegation from the United Kingdom Parliament All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion and Beliefs, Ortom appealed to the international community to put pressure on the Federal Government to address the continued acts of terrorism by armed herdsmen in the country without religious or ethnic bias.

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Stating that it appears like the current administration in Nigeria is unwilling to wield the big stick against murderous terrorist groups, the governor said that the Nigerian government saddled with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the people as enshrined in the constitution is not doing enough.

In a statement released by Nathaniel Ikyur, the governor accused the FG of failing to act swiftly to tame the rise of terror attacks on communities in the country for many years by Islamic extremists with the sole aim of taking over the country must be put to an end.

The governor alleged that the current appointment of suspected Boko Haram supporters into key federal offices, integration of repentant members of the sect into the military and failure of the government to arrest and prosecute terrorist herdsmen have also proven its complicity.

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For the sake of national unity, cohesion, peaceful coexistence and promotion of development, the governor warned that the rights of the people to freedom of religion must also be respected by the Nigerian state.

He said that there is a strong need for the international community to intervene by putting pressure on the Government to do the right thing.

He informed the visiting parliamentarians that due to the activities of these terrorist groups, over 1.5 million people have been displaced from their ancestral lands and properties worth billions of naira were destroyed in Benue state as a result of the invasion.

He recommended the rehabilitation and return of IDPs to their ancestral homes as well as payment of full compensation to victims.

UK parliamentarians react to Ortom's demands

Responding to the demands made by Ortom, the leader of the delegation and member of parliament from Ireland, Jim Shannon thanked the governor for availing his team with a comprehensive insight into the issues in the state and Nigeria as a whole.

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Shannon assured that they would present his case to the right department back home to get positive results.

In their separate comments, Brendan O'Hara, of the House of Commons and Rachel Miner who acknowledged that the religious crisis in Nigeria was getting worse said they would continue to talk to Government, religious and civil society leaders to effect the desired change.

2023: Ortom wins PDP ticket for Benue northwest senatorial district

Governor Samuel Ortom had won the ticket of the PDP for the 2023 election in Benue's northwest senatorial district.

Ortom’s emergence followed his adoption by delegates from the seven local government areas which make up the senatorial district.

The incumbent senator, Emmanuel Oker’Jev, had said he would not seek re-election in the forthcoming polls.

2023: Prominent southeast PDP lawmaker loses bid for 5th term

In a related development, Pat Asadu, a member of the PDP in the House of Representatives, had lost his bid to return to the National Assembly in 2023.

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On Sunday, May 22, the legislator representing Nsukka/Igboeze south federal constituency was defeated at the party’s primary election in Enugu state.

The lawmaker lost his return ticket to a former chairman of the PDP, Engr. Vitta Abba.

Source: Legit.ng