Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, on Sunday, revealed why he cannot abandon his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike.
Ortom stated this at a banquet in honour of governors Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, and Okezie Ikpeazu in Makurdi where he said his reason was that Wike has proved to be a trusted and dependable ally.
This he said was that when bandits suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked him, Wike was the first person to condemn it.
Ortom said:
“When Benue was under siege, he donated N250million and he subsequently spent over N700million to support the State to tackle the humanitarian crisis occasioned by the unwarranted attacks.
“He didn’t stop at that. He convinced Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom to also assist the State and he donated N200million to us.
“Is he not a worthy friend? He’s a worthy friend and we’re working together to liberate the country.”
Ortom said that he wouldn’t support the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, adding that any of Atiku’s supporters is his enemy.
He said:
“I’m not going to support any Fulani man to continue to do injustice to my people unless my people tell me to do otherwise.”
Responding on behalf of the visiting governors, Wike thanked Ortom for the honour he had given to them.
Wike said:
“People want to break us but they cannot, we are bonded; therefore, we cannot be separated.”
Wike further advised the leadership of the PDP at the centre to maintain peace by respecting agreements.
