By Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has claimed that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has failed the integrity test, saying that it ought to accept its failure, apologize to Nigerians and seek help to salvage the situation.
This is contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur in Abuja on Thursday responding to the allegation of lying against the President brought up in Wednesday’s statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.
Remember that the Presidency had blamed the governor for lying claim that high-ranking security personnel had informed him by and by that President Buhari had requested security forces not to move against the Fulani herdsmen responsible for recent violence.
Be that as it may, in his response, Ortom called on the administration to redeem its image by rescuing Nigerians from the apron strings of bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists who, he said, are having a field day in the country.
“This is the painful reality that handlers of the President don’t want us to talk about,” he stated.
The statement further quoted Ortom as saying: “Each time I speak about the dreadful manner the Muhammadu Buhari administration has handled the security situation in the country, his media aides and hangers-on come out attacking my personality instead of addressing the issues I raised.
“The latest of such attacks by the Presidency came from the garrulous Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, who, rather than tell Nigerians the steps taken by his principal to end the unprecedented bloodshed perpetrated by armed Fulani terrorists, chose to hurl insults on the Governor.
“If the Presidency assumes that I am wrong about my statements regarding the failure of the present government to tackle insecurity, I urge them to hold a referendum to get the feelings of Nigerians towards their ineptitude, complicity, and clear lack of commitment and sincerity in protecting the people.
“It is sad and unfortunate that the likes of Garba Shehu have zero sympathies for the families of those being killed daily by Fulani terrorists.”
The government regretted that some of the President’s aides cared less about the country as long as their own meal tickets are secured, alleging that they are also quick to sell their loyalty to the highest bidder
Governor Ortom added: “Shehu blew the opportunity to prove me wrong that I had raised a false alarm about the worsening security situation in the country. Hundreds of our citizens are held captive by terrorists in the forests. I expected Shehu to tell Nigerians what efforts the Federal Government has made to release the hostages.
“Was it a false alarm from me that led to the terrorists’ attack on the convoy of President Buhari in his home state Katsina? Or was it a movie acting when terrorists broke into Kuje Correctional Centre right in the heart of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, and released their colleagues? It is unfortunate that to date, no officer has been arrested or questioned for the lapses and clear cases of complicity by the security operatives attached to the Kuje facility.
There are reports of over six jailbreaks in the last seven years under the Buhari administration. If that is not a crying shame of failure on the part of the Presidency, we wonder what else qualifies as a failure.
