Take Gov. Zulum’s Alarm On ISWAP’s Seriously – Gov. Ortom Tells FG

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Tuesday tasked the Federal Government to take the alarm raised by his counterpart in Borno State, Governor Babagana Zulum on the recruitment of more fighters by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) seriously.

This was as he also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to evolve security strategies that will see to the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes without further delay to enable them continue with their normal life activities.

Governor Ortom, who stated these when he received in audience, a delegation of the ‘Victim Support Fund (VSF)’, led by its Chairperson, Mrs Toyosi Akerele Ogunsiji on Tuesday at the Benue Peoples House Makurdi, called on leaders of the country to speak up and not remain silent in the face of insecurity.

VSF is led by a former Chief of Army Staff, General TY Danjuma (rtd.)

Ortom said; “I want to lend my voice to what my colleague in Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum cried out against the activities of ISWAP in that part of the country. The Federal Government should not take this alarm from the threats of ISWAP lightly”.

He also advised the Federal Government to take proactive steps to send the terrorists away from Nigeria to allow citizens and residents live in peace.

In the words of Ortom; “We cannot continue this way. Nigeria deserves more peace than what we have now”.

The Benue State Governor regretted that immediately he assumed office in 2015, he foresaw the danger of allowing the activities of Fulani militia herdsmen to fester for long without a permanent solution, saying that the result is what ‘we are seeing today”.

According to him; “The strategic support we want now is to enable our people living in the IDPs camps to return to their ancestral lands. Our people want to go back to their communities so that they can live their normal lives”.

Ortom noted that his idea of conducting a mass burial for victims of the January 1, 2018 killings by militia herdsmen was meant to draw attention to the security situation in the country, stressing that leaders at all levels need to speak out against the ills in the country.

He commended the VSF under the leadership of General Danjuma (rtd.) for intervening in some critical areas in the plight of the IDPs in Benue, describing the elder statesman as forthright and outspoken on national issues.

Ortom called on VSF to intensity support in the areas of improved healthcare services to IDPs, upscale its educational activities from primary to secondary education in the camps, support NGOs to continue to render help to the IDPs among others.

Earlier in her remarks, Mrs Ogunsiji said they were in the state to get more from the Governor on critical areas the VSF should intervene in the short and long term so that the organization does not just throw money at the problems confronting the IDPs.

Ogunsiji said that the visit followed a request by Governor Ortom to the VSF for support to the IDPs, adding that a visit to the camps revealed the unhealthy nature of the environment inhabited by the IDPs.

She noted that Benue as a critical stakeholder in the area of food security has seriously been affected by food production in the state and country at large and must be encouraged to overcome.