4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24,2021 — 5 POCKET CARTOON SPECIAL CONSULTATION —President Muhammadu <strong>Buhari</strong> with Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, during a special consultation at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN. <strong>Insecurity</strong> <strong>threatens</strong> <strong>2023</strong> <strong>elections</strong>, <strong>Ortom</strong> <strong>tells</strong> <strong>Buhari</strong> •Adds Nigeria sitting on keg of gunpowder•Reps condemn attack on <strong>Ortom</strong>, say offenders must face justice•Afenifere blasts FG to failing to restore security, punish perpetrators of Agatu massacre•Attack on <strong>Ortom</strong>: Military deploys troops to Tyo-Mu forests in Benue By Peter Duru, Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Tordue Salem ABUJA — Governor Samuel <strong>Ortom</strong> of Benue State, yesterday, met President Muhammadu <strong>Buhari</strong> at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and told newsmen after the meeting that the <strong>2023</strong> <strong>elections</strong> may not hold, if insecurity in the country persists. Meanwhile, the military, yesterday, deployed troops to Tyo- Mu, the community Governor Samuel <strong>Ortom</strong> of Benue State, was attacked in his farm last Saturday. Commander of the joint military security outfit in Benue State, Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, Major-General Adeyinka Yekini, disclosed this while conducting newsmen round the scene of the attack where five bullet shells were recovered. This is even as the House of Representatives, yesterday, condemned in very strong terms the attack on the governor, saying the perpetrators must be fished out and dealt with. Similarly, the Pan- Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, berated the Federal Government for its inability to resolve the insecurity in the country and for failing to fish out perpetrators of Agatu massacre in Benue State which claimed scores of lives. Military deploys troops in Tyo-Mu On military deployment in Tyo-Mu, Major- General Yekini said the troops were deployed to the community to intensify patrol and surveillance of the general area. General Yekini, accompanied by Security Adviser to the Governor, retired Col. Paul Hemba, noted that his troops had immediately moved in to patrol, comb and clear the area. He noted that the patrol will help check activities of the militia herdsmen and other criminal elements emerging from the forest across River Benue to unleash mayhem on people. His words: “We are here to show you that the general area is clear of any bandits. The incident was quite unfortunate. When we were alerted, we immediately combed the area. We should not be judged by this singular assignment; we have accepted it was a security breach and we will take action.” He disclosed that in the course of patrol, the troops discovered a makeshift camp of the armed herders which it destroyed and set ablaze. On his part, the governor’s security adviser, Col Paul Hembe, retd, who disclosed that five empty shells of bullets were recovered from the scene of the attack, said no arrests had been made but noted that three persons who reside in the area were only invited for questioning after which they were allowed to go home. Hemba, who commended the swift response of troops of OPWS to the area, said as soon as they were alerted, they moved in to comb the area but noted that the bandits had fled by the time the troops arrived. “We are at the scene of the unfortunate incident of the attack on Governor Samuel <strong>Ortom</strong>. He came into his farm and while touring the farm, he went to a small market and on his way back, the gunmen who were hiding in the bushes opened fire on him. “We quickly alerted the OPWS and they immediately responded and gave them a hot chase and they have been combing the bushes since then. We commend OPWS for their prompt response. “The troops combed the bushes and found some makeshift hideouts and burnt them. We could not make any arrest because the bandits ran away as soon as the troops arrived,” Hemba said. <strong>2023</strong> <strong>elections</strong> may not hold over insecurity — <strong>Ortom</strong> Also yesterday, Benue State governor, Samuel <strong>Ortom</strong>, said if the insecurity challenges in the country persisted, <strong>2023</strong> <strong>elections</strong> would not hold. Governor <strong>Ortom</strong> stated this when he visited President Muhammadu <strong>Buhari</strong> at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The governor, who arrived at the Villa unaccompanied, met with the President over issues of insecurity in the country. He thanked the President for condemning the attack on his farm but said “that there will be no <strong>2023</strong> <strong>elections</strong> in Nigeria if insecurity persists.” Briefing journalists after meeting with the President, Governor <strong>Ortom</strong> disclosed that the nation was sitting on a keg of gun powder without meaningful progress being made on the issue of security. He said: “It’s not just enough to say that one criticises the policies of the President, but when he does a good thing, it is our responsibility to team up with him to ensure that it’s done because it is when we are peaceful, when we have security that we can talk about tomorrow. “I want to also appeal to Nigerians, <strong>2023</strong>, yes to a politician is not far, but it’s still a long way. If we secure our country and everything is working fine, then we can talk about <strong>2023</strong>, but with the way things are going, if we don’t secure the country, there is no way we can talk about <strong>2023</strong>, that is why I always dismiss people who come to me to say we will Continues on Page 35 By Cynthia Alo On FG's approval of $1.5bn for rehabilitation of PH refinery (4) Shell sold a 149,000bpd capacity refinery in the US for $1.2m. We can’t expect to make economic progress if we continue to fund inefficiency. We’re fast moving into a debt trap, from ¦ 12 trillion in 2015 to over ¦ 32 trillion today because some people are enriching themselves with every policy. Let this refinery be sold to coreinvestors with proven capacity to repair it with their own funds. —Anyanwu Celestine, Asst. brand manager That amount is enough to build two new refineries with optimum performance. $1.5b is too high, the contractors and FG should be probed per dollar spent if they go ahead with the project. This is a wrong advice to the FG with the present state of the economy. Every spending should be focused on improving our standard of living. —Maximums Ohio, Businessman As for me, the FG cannot be trusted. The money will not be utilised in rehabilitating the refinery, it will be looted! All we need is accountability and transparency to grow this nation. It is not a question of bringing out this money but can we say it has been used and how it was used? —Maryjane Raphael, Entrepreneur I see this as a way to appease the South- East. Why is this coming at this point in time? It’s a total waste. We should think of diverting the money into something that will generate income for the South-East and South-South. I will advise they invest the money in Agriculture. With the rate at which corruption is disturbing us, some officials may even mismanage the money. —Richards Ayobami, Teacher Being a nation that consumes what she does not produce has always been an economical landmine for us. So, spending $1.5b to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt this is a step in the right economical direction to consume what we produce which would reduce inflation. —Jesse Ugwunwa, Debt Manager In my opinion, the approval of $1.5bn by the FG for rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery is goodnews to Nigeria as it will not only reduce the prices of petroleum products, but also create jobs for both graduates and non-graduates. —Uchechi Wonderful, Digital Marketer
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