22032021 - Govs, APC, PDP, othersrally against attack on Ortom

Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021—5
POCKET CARTOON
By Kingsley
Omonobi, Henry
Umoru, Peter Duru,
Dirisu Yakubu &
Marie-Therese
Nanlong
ABUJA —The Nigeria
Governors’ Forum, NGF,
said yesterday that any
attempt to make Benue
State ungovernable will
fail woefully.
The NGF was reacting
to Saturday’s <strong>attack</strong> by
gunmen suspected to be
herdsmen on the
governor’s convoy while
on a visit to his farm at Tyo
Mu along Makurdi-
Gboko road.
Ortom had said that 15
armed men trailed his
convoy to the river bank
where he was on foot with
his security details and
opened fire on them.
The governors’ reaction
came as the Inspector-
PDF Compressor Free Version
COMMISSIONING OF DLA ROAD —From left: Senator Bukola Saraki,
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, his Deputy, Mr Kingsley Otuaro
and the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori,
during the commissioning of DLA Road, Asaba, weekend.
<strong>Govs</strong>, <strong>APC</strong>, <strong>PDP</strong>, others rail
<strong>against</strong> <strong>attack</strong> on Ortom
General of Police, IGP
Mohammed Adamu,
yesterday, ordered fullscale
investigations into
the circumstances
surrounding the <strong>attack</strong>
and
reported
assassination attempt on
the life of Governor Ortom.
Reacting to the <strong>attack</strong>
yesterday in a statement,
Chairman of the NGF and
governor of Ekiti State,
Kayode Fayemi, did not
only describe the broad
daylight <strong>attack</strong> on Ortom
as “shocking and a rude
awakening” but also noted
that any attempt to make
Benue
State
ungovernable, by virtue of
that <strong>attack</strong>, would fail.
Recalling that the
brother of a former
governor of the state,
Gabriel Suswam, was
recently killed by gunmen,
the governors said the
plan of the gunmen was
to make Benue
ungovernable and vowed
to bring the violence in
the state to an end.
NGF condemns
<strong>attack</strong>
The statement read:
“The news of the broad
daylight attempt to cut
short the life of the
Governor of Benue State,
Dr Samuel Ortom, is
shocking and a rude
awakening.
“The Nigeria
Governors’ Forum, NGF,
empathizes with the
governor and the people
of Benue State on this
sad, cowardly, and wicked
plan and vehemently
condemns the act in its
entirety.
“All hands must be on
deck to uncover the
identities of those
involved in this heinous
crime. The NGF wishes to
state categorically that the
attempt to make Benue
State ungovernable is
unacceptable and will fail
woefully.
“Only recently the
brother of one of the
former governors of the
state was mowed down in
cold blood. This
dishonourable and
shameful act of resorting
to violence, for whatever
reason, to eliminate
citizens of Benue State by
brutal means must not
continue.
“The NGF as a platform
for all the 36 Governors
will continue to encourage
its members to stand firm
in the service of their
people regardless of the
evil machinations of those
who do not wish Nigeria
well.
“Evil will not be allowed
to triumph over good, not
in Benue and not
anywhere in this country.
While all governors will
continue to pray for
Governor Ortom, the NGF
wishes to draw the
attention of all evil-doers
that not only will they
continue to fail in their
wicked acts, but they will
also definitely be traced
and punished for their
crimes, no matter how
long it takes.
“Once again, the NGF
prays for Governor Ortom
and wishes him long life
as his safety and that of
all the people of Benue
State continue to be
paramount to the NGF.”
Fish out sponsors
— Northern govs
Similarly, Northern
governors condemned the
<strong>attack</strong> in the strongest
terms, describing it as a
disturbing development
which must be
investigated thoroughly.
Chairman of the
Northern Governors’
Forum and governor of
Plateau State, Simon
Lalong, in a statement
signed by his Director of
Press and Public Affairs,
Makut Macham, said the
<strong>attack</strong> on Governor Ortom
was “yet another daring
attempt by criminals to
cause mayhem not only in
Benue State but also in
the nation as a whole.”
While praising the
security details of the
governor for repelling the
<strong>attack</strong> and securing the
governor and members of
his entourage, Lalong
said: “Relevant security
agencies must carry out
detailed investigation to
fish out those behind the
<strong>attack</strong> and their sponsors.
“All hands must be on
deck to tame this
degeneration of security
in the country that
threatens the corporate
existence of the nation.
“Northern governors
stand in solidarity with
our colleague and the
entire people of Benue
State. We will continue to
engage and support
security agencies in their
duty of securing the
region and nation at
large.”
Attack on Ortom,
<strong>attack</strong> on us all —
<strong>PDP</strong> govs
Also yesterday,
governors elected on the
platform of Peoples
Democratic Party, <strong>PDP</strong>,
condemned in strong
terms the reported <strong>attack</strong>
on Ortom by yet-to-beidentified
gunmen.
Chairman of the forum
and governor of Sokoto
State, Aminu Tambuwal,
in a statement he
personally signed on
behalf of his colleagues,
warned that “any attempt
to harm any Nigerian will
be viewed by the forum as
an attempt on all of us.”
The statement read: “We
believe strongly that any
dispute or perceived
dispute should be and
must be resolved
amicably without resort to
violence. Nigeria is not a
Babana Republic, even
though certain
retrogressive elements
and centrifugal forces are
trying to consign Nigeria
into a failed state.
“It remains the primary
responsibility of
government, especially the
federal government, who
have monopoly of the
coercive forces of state, to
secure the lives and
livelihoods of our people,
however low or high.
“Every Nigerian deserves
equal protection of the laws.
Every citizen is entitled to
freedom of speech and free
exercise of all rights
guaranteed in the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, subject
Continues on Page 41
By Cynthia Alo
On FG's approval of $1.5bn for rehabilitation of PH refinery (2)
It’s a good idea if the FG
can do it. It will reduce
cost of refining crude
due to nearness of raw
material to refinery. Fuel
price would go down;
however, politics may
set in. Many Nigerians
no longer take such
statements seriously
because they end up
being unfulfilled. Again,
such amount of money
could be embezzled.
—Chimezie Onyeneke,
Hospitality consultant
Towards the end of 2019,
Mele Kyari, NNPC’s
GMD, said during a
facility tour of the PH
refinery that
rehabilitation will
commence but nothing
happened. My point is;
promising to rehabilitate
refineries has been a
recurring decimal; they
are pointers that
elections are around the
corner. A lot of promises are
made but not fulfilled. Let’s
just watch and see.
—Momoh Moses,
Media Assistant
In my opinion, running
a refinery requires very
prudent and straight
forward structure devoid of
govt. bureaucracy. Reviving
an obsolete refinery is
tantamount to going
backwards and it’s another
avenue to siphon money.
The FG should sell or lease
it or go into joint venture
with private companies.
That’s the way forward.
Oseni Mariam,
Businesswoman
That is outrageous; it’s
wasting of public funds.
I think this is another way
to channel our money
where we can’t question
them. How can I trust a govt.
that has spent so much on
security and agriculture, yet
things are worsening? Our
refineries don’t have the
capacity to refine huge
amount of oil, hence the
reason I’m forced to think
they’re trying to cheat us as
usual.
—Oguche Ojonugwa,
First, how much will
it cost to build a new
refinery from the scratch?
Maybe we should ask
Dangote so that we can
weigh the options of
rehabilitation or
completely build from
scratch or better still,
concession the project to
a private firm or
individual for a period of
time.
Tunde Timothy
Soc. media/PR manager
Approvals have been
given to carry out
several projects here but
majority never
materialised. Approving
$1.5bn at a go for
rehabilitation is unwise.
Dangote is already building
the biggest refinery in Africa
here in Nigeria. If the FG
wants to spend $1.5 bn for
rehabilitating a refinery that
has been unproductive for
years, your guess is as good
as mine.
—Ifeanacho Jennifer,
Undergraduate