Politics

Hold Buhari Responsible For Violence In Nigeria, Ortom Tells US

Published

4 years ago

July 16, 2022

Editor

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has called on the American government and the rest of the international community to hold the government of Muhammadu Buhari accountable for the spate of violence in Nigeria.

He made the call at the State Department, Washington DC, while interacting with its officials.

Governor Ortom also said President Buhari and his government should be held responsible if anything happens to him, citing the series of threats he has been receiving and the attempt made on his life in March last year as signals that the Presidency and its conspirators are after him.

He pointed out that till date, those who attacked him have not been prosecuted.

He stated that he was at the State Department to present the traumatized Nigerian victims’ side of the story after discovering that wrong narratives were being circulated across the globe by the government of Buhari to shield itself from complicity.

The Governor said the false narrative of “herder-farmer clashes” was deliberately crafted to delay farmers’ doomsday until they were gradually wiped out and their ancestral lands confiscated, saying “the truth is that farming populations in Nigeria are under siege and are being decimated; agriculture is gradually dying and food security is being threatened”.

Governor Ortom alerted the international community not to take the insecurity in Nigeria as a distant problem, stressing that the outbreak of war in any country will cause migration problems to America and Britain due to their friendly immigration policies.

He said in the last seven years, the Buhari administration has seen children rendered as orphans, farmers being displaced, schools, hospitals and social services disrupted, without doing anything to restore normalcy, stating that the federal government’s punitive neglect has led to increasing number of internally displaced persons in Benue State which now stands at 1.5 million.

The Governor therefore called on the United States of America and the rest of the international community to take the following steps to end the spate of violence in the country, especially in Benue state:

Demand accountability from Buhari’s government on the deaths of innocent citizens.

Appoint a special envoy to Nigeria to deal with the flashpoint of the violence;

Ensure that international funding of IDPs gets to Benue State, the epicentre of the current violence as well as Plateau, Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara and other states affected by terrorists’ attacks in the country,

Encourage the establishment of state police in Nigeria.

Responding, the US State Department officials headed by the Under Secretary, Africa and Middle East, Padgett Douglas said “the US government was aware of random terrorism, weaponization of religion and importation of violence in Nigeria”, adding that since the security of the political system was paramount to the US government, it has set up a conflict bureau to fund IDPs in Nigeria, but he would ensure that such funding does not go to the wrong channels, while promising to make a case for the Benue IDPs and investigate other issues raised by Governor Ortom.

DAILY POST

Politics

Defection: Peter Obi Simply Looking For ‘Food Is Ready’ Party – Wike

Published

56 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe on former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his recent defection.

Speaking during a media parley on Wednesday, Wike said Obi is looking for a ‘food is ready’ political party.

The minister said, “Obi was in APGA, he couldn’t build APGA. He went to Labour, he ran away again from Labour. All he’s looking for is food is ready political party.”

Recall that Obi and Rabi’u Kwankwaso, former presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, on Sunday officially joined the NDC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Politics

2027: Nobody Wants Fubara – Wike

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that there is widespread support for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to return in 2027.

Speaking during his monthly media parley on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike suggested that Fubara can’t claim to enjoy unanimous backing from the public.

He explained that the political crisis in Rivers State had earlier been addressed through the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, particularly during impeachment proceedings initiated against Fubara.

According to Wike, the President advised all parties to embrace peace, leading to the withdrawal of the impeachment move by the State House of Assembly after agreements were reached.

Wike, however, alleged that the governor failed to fully adhere to the terms agreed during the arbitration process.

Reacting to claims that the people were urging Fubara to seek re-election in 2027, Wike rejected the assertion, insisting that such narratives were misleading.

Wike maintained that appearing before the President for arbitration required respect for the outcome, noting that all parties were expected to uphold their commitments.

He said: “The President, intervened in the impeachment proceeding. I said withdraw, let their be peace. And the governor said, look, I’m ready for peace. Look, I’m no longer interested for this. I will not do this. The Assembly went and withdrew the impeachment.

“Having withdrawn the impeachment, he is now too smart on what you agreed before the President. It’s like when you go on arbitration.”

Wike continued, “This one is what I don’t like. Nobody wants anybody. Please, don’t tell me that. Excuse me.

You can go and tell that to the market people or children. Two years that people say he should come out. Who told you that?

“Which politician will say that I was sleeping they came and woke me? Even if people people come to wake you, can’t you say, no, I won’t do it. I’m not prepared for it.

“That you appeared before a President of the country on arbitration, the two parties on arbitration, and these people respected Mr. President, and have done their own part.”

Politics

2027: Wike Opens Up On Preferred Rivers Guber Candidate

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday said he hasn’t endorsed any candidate for the Rivers state gubernatorial election in 2027.

Wike stated this on Wednesday during his monthly media parley in Abuja.

Wike said that the endorsement will come only after a meeting by the joint coalition in the state.

He said: “I haven’t endorsed anybody. And I can’t endorse anybody until the joint coalition meets.”

DAILY POST reports that questions have been raised concerning the fate of current governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, in 2027.

The FCT Minister was reported to have endorsed former State Commissioner for Works, Alabo Dakorinama George Kelly, as his preferred candidate for the Rivers State governorship election.

Sources told DAILY POST that Wike settled for George after a closed-door meeting with key political stakeholders in Port Harcourt on Monday.