Ortom urges citizens to get PVC, resist invasion

The Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has urged Benue citizens to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards and resist invasion of their land by herdsmen under the guise of grazing.

He said this, yesterday, at NKST Church, Iortyer, while declaring open a one-day Minister’s retreat, organised by the state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).The governor also urged the church to be vigilant and stop enemies’ plan of imposing leaders on the state, with a view to having a smooth ride in the implementation of their agenda.He acknowledged the church’s complementary role in securing the land through prayers, during the external aggression that characterised enactment and implementation of Benue’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.

Ortom stated that two weeks ago, three persons were abducted in Guma, and were held hostage for some days before they were released with a message to him (Ortom) that, since he had made a law against open grazing, there would be no farming in Benue State.

He said it was laughable that the number of cattle causing unrest in Nigeria was less than 20 million, when in countries with over 200 million heads of cattle, ranching is practised without hitches. 

The state chairman of CAN, Rev. Akpen Leva, said the retreat was meant to strengthen existing unity among churches, and pray for peace in the state.He commended the clergy for their perseverance in the face of attacks by external aggressors, just as he praised Ortom for standing firm through the enactment and implementation of the state’s ranching law. Leva said the church in Nigeria was under serious threat and charged Christians nationwide to pray against the dangerous trend.