The outgoing governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom yesterday slammed President Muhammadu Buhari for taking Nigeria from the top to the bottom during the eight years he superintended the affairs of the country.
The governor made the averment during the commissioning of the headquarters of the Benue State Community Volunteer Guards (BSCVGs) in Makurdi.
He said the outgoing president’s would be remembered by all as the worst in the history of Nigeria stressing the country had flourished prior to Nigeria had flourished under President Gooduck Jonathan before Buhari took over in 2015.
“I served under the then President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and we all saw how Nigeria flourished under that administration. We all knew what the prices of goods and services were at the time.
“We also know what our exchange rate was at the time and what it is today. I want Nigerians to do a simple comparison and you will realise how bad it has been under this government and how Nigeria has been taken several years backward by the Buhari government.
“The fact is that never in the history of Nigeria did we experience this kind of bad governance in the country.
“Corruption is so endemic in this government yet people who steal chicken are thrown into prison but people in government who are busy stealing the wealth of the people are walking free.
“The president recently apologised to Nigerians; we accept the apology but he must be told that he failed woefully and Nigerians are feeling the impact of that failure because we are all suffering,” he said.
Ortom also took a swipe at the president for refusing to disarm armed Fulani herdsmen and branding them a terrorist organisation for masterminding the killings in the country.
“The president told us he is retiring to tend to his cattle. Is it because he is returning to be a herder that he failed to deal decisively with herdsmen? That was unfair to Nigerians,” he said.
Ortom also accused the administration for withholding what accrued to Benue State because of his (Ortom’s) insistence on equity, fairness and justice.
In his remarks, special adviser to the governor on security matters, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba (rtd) and representative of the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, Mr. S. Y. Gimba praised the BSCVG for being professional in its conduct.
They also commended the governor for his effort to ensure security of lives and property in the state, and expressed the hope that the incoming administration will build on the foundation he laid.
