Buhari supported Ortom’s anti-open grazing law – Presidency

… warns about spreading falsehood against Buhari

The Presidency has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari
supported the anti-open grazing law in Benue enacted by
administration of Gabriel Ortom, the State governor in 2017.

The Presidency made this known in a statement by Garba Shehu,
the President Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity in a
reaction to what was alleged to be Governor Ortom hate campaign
against President Buhari.

The Benue anti-grazing law came into force on the 1st of
November, 2017, which seeks to prohibit open grazing by herdsmen
and prevent further clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the
State.

According to the Presidency, the governor has been visiting
churches in the state where he falsely tells congregations about
President Buhari’s so-called plans to Islamise Benue State.

The statement reads, “the Presidency calls on Governor Samuel
Ortom of Benue State to desist from basing his campaign for
re-election on falsehoods concerning President Muhammadu Buhari and
instead focus on the dire issues confronting the State” .

“Governor Ortom’s campaign is clearly one designed to stir
division and hatred, and to divert the people’s attention from his
inability to pay staff salaries and pensions for several
months”.

“It has been noted that the governor has been visiting churches
in the state where he falsely tells congregations about President
Buhari’s so-called plans to Islamise Benue State” .

“This nonsense has formed the basis of his campaign, because he
has nothing to offer Benue people”.

“The allegations coming from Ortom were particularly unfair,
when one considers how much support the governor received from the
Federal Government, which supported his grazing laws as a means to
end the farmer-herder crises that have plagued the state”.

“If not for President Buhari’s insistence that the governor be
given a chance to effect the law, he would have faced resistance
from different sources and found it difficult to implement” .

“While advising Ortom to immediately stop his dubious attacks on
President Buhari, the Federal Government calls on the people of
Benue State to not fall for Ortom’s deception and allow themselves
to be hoodwinked by such a negative campaign”.

“They should instead, ask him why he has refused to pay staff
salaries and pensions for months, and what he did with the funding
from the excess crude account which should ideally have gone
towards addressing such payments” .