Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state Wednesday said the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar believes that Fulanis will vote him into power in 2023.
The Governor who noted that it would be unachievable asked the presidential candidate to tender a public apology to him for the statement he made in Kaduna if he cares about Benue votes.
It will be recalled that Alhaji Abubakar during the presidential interactive session organized by the Arewa Joint Committee held in Kaduna was quoted as saying that “I am angry with Governor Ortom for profiling Fulanis as bandits and terrorists because I am a Fulani.”
Reacting to the comment shortly after being publicly endorsed for Senate by thousands of youths from Tarka, Buruku and Gboko Local Government Areas, LGAs, of the state known as the Jemgbagh block, on the platform of Coalition of Jemgbagh Youth Associations, CJYA, the Governor asked Alhaji Abubakar to tender a public apology to him and Benue people.
He said “I join you the youths to vehemently condemn the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s statement against me because when that statement got to me, I protested to him through a WhatsApp chat and he apologised to me.
“But I told him that it did not go down well with my people and several other people across the country and so he should make the apology public ; he declined to make it public.
“You cannot undress an elder like me in the public and want to dress me up in the room. I told him it is wrong but he has refused to make the apology public that is why we are where we are today.
“And I want to put it on record that at no time did I apologise to Atiku that some of my brothers were stealing my cow. He lied against me and I take exception to that and I require an apology from him. It is unbecoming for a presidential candidate to tell lies against his people.
“And so I never also profiled Fulanis as a whole because it will be a logical fallacy, I am educated to say that all Fulanis are bad. There are good Fulanis that I can even allow access to my bedroom. Some are serving with me here. I have never sent any Fulani man away from Benue, we have all lived together.
