Why i wept when i visted Benue State -Pastor Adeboye

The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has disclosed that he wept when he visited Benue state and saw people weeping.
The revered cleric made the disclosure on Friday, while condemning the mindless killings in the state and other parts of the country.

Adeboye and his wife, Folu, visited Benue to condole with the government and people of the state over recent killings by herdsmen.
Recall that 73 persons were killed in Guma and Logo LGAs of the state on New Year’s Day, while many dozens more have been slaughtered in series of attacks after then.

Adeboye said he delayed his visit to the state and made it after the president had visited so that people would not read political meanings into it.

He condemned the killings and called for an immediate ceasing of the attacks.

Speaking on why he wept, Adeboye said,

“Of course, no man of God will see a mass burial anywhere and not feel the pains of the people affected.

“We want these killings to stop. Happily, we know someone who can stop it.

“He is the almighty God, He does not fail or compromise, He is the God of all.

“We will continue to call on Him to fight this battle and you can be assured that victory will be certain.”

The state governor, Samuel Ortom, who hosted the cleric, called for continued prayers to enable the state overcome the security challenges confronting it.

He noted that the herdsmen attacks had led to many deaths in the state and created a humanitarian crisis.

PHOTOS : Enough of Bloodshed in Benue - Ortom.

Governor Samuel Ortom has decried the amount of blood shed in Benue State due to the atrocities meted on Benue farmers by Fulani herdsmen.

He was speaking today at St. Bernard's Primary School Ugwu-Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue during a funeral service in honour of 26 victims of herdsmen attacks in Omusu and Okana communities.

Governor Ortom reiterated his call on security agencies to arrest the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore whom he said were the sponsors of the killings in the state based on comments credited to them and published in various media houses.

The Governor while consoling the bereaved families, said the death of the victims and many others would put an end to the massacre of Benue people

He stated that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law had come to stay in Benue, noting that there was no land for open grazing and crop farming to go on concurrently.

Governor Ortom assured Benue people that his administration would continue to respond swiftly to security challenges, adding that data were being gathered for compensation for damages caused by herdsmen attacks in Benue.

In separate remarks, state Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu, Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon. James Okefe, representative of Bishop Apochi, Rev. Fr. John Attah among others expressed appreciation to Governor Ortom for his support to the bereaved families and pledged their support for the ranching law.

On their part, the three sociocultural groups in the state who spoke through Mr. Omele Amali and the representative of Movement Against Fulani Occupation, MAFO, Pastor Dave Ogbole said they saw the attacks coming and reported to relevant authorities but nothing was done to avert the massacre.

While expressing disappointment with the federal government over its inactions towards the killings, Pastor Ogbole called on the international community to rise up and stop a repeat of Rwanda in Nigeria, adding that the resort by Benue people to remain law abiding should not be mistaken for cowardice.

In a sermon, Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Benue State Chapter, Rev. Akpen Leva prayed God to grant the Governor and the entire Benue people the strength to overcome the menace of herdsmen attacks.

Gov Ortom presents Start-up kits to Benue youths.PHOTOS

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, today flagged off the presentation of 500 start-up kits procured by the state government to youths who graduated in five trade areas under the National Industrial Skills Development Program of the Industrial Training Fund.

The trainees who received skills for three months in Plaster of Paris, Fisheries, Confectionery, Welding and Fabrication as well as Tailoring and Garment making were presented with Start up packs at their graduation ceremony held at the Ultra International Market, Makurdi. 

Addressing the graduands, Governor Samuel Ortom urged them to make good use of the opportunity provided by setting up their businesses in order to generate wealth and also boost the economy of the state.

He noted that having identified skills acquisition as a step towards reducing unemployment in the state, the executive council approved the establishment of three technical colleges across the three geopolitical zones of the state to equip youths with requisite skills to add value to their lives and the society.

The Governor assured that his administration would continue to partner with agencies and institutions to ensure that Benue people access skills and working capital to support their business enterprises.

He said his administration was prepared to sponsor more youths in addition to those in the next round of training by the ITF.

Director General of the organization, Mr. Joseph Ari, commended the Benue State Government for providing the starter packs for the trainees and enjoined them to remain committed and dedicated to making a success out of the kits.

Mr. Ari stated that the agency would soon commence another training of 300 youths in each state of the federation who would be provided with starter packs by the agency and called on the Benue State Government to add another 200. 

Commissioner of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Tersoo Kpelai, expressed appreciation to the Industrial Training Fund for the partnership and for its commitment on delivering on thir mandate.

He stated that the graduates have been grouped into cooperatives for effective utilization of the kits.

Two of the beneficiaries, Martins Adu and Daniel Ajonye said the training has provided them with the opportunity to become self reliant and thanked the ITF and Benue State Government for the training.

Photo credit Tahav Agevzua

BENUE HERDSMAN COMMITS SUICIDE OVER DEATH OF 200 COWS

A 56-year-Fulani herdsman, Mohammed Abdulkadire, jumped into River Benue in the Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.

The National Coordinator of Miyietti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Benue State chapter, Garus Gololo, who spoke to our correspondent on Saturday, said the deceased committed suicide after he lost 200 of his cows to hunger and lack of water.

The Benue State Government had, on November 1, commenced the implementation of its anti-open grazing law, leading to some herdsmen relocating to other states.

Gololo said since the commencement of the Benue anti-open grazing law, Fulani herdsmen had lost about 600 cows due to poor feeding and inaccessibility to water.

He lamented that Abdulkadire, who had 22 children, cried and jumped into the river out of frustration when he discovered that 200 out of his 500 cows had died where they were camped, looking for a means to relocate from Benue State.

The herdsmen’s leader said, “The man killed himself simply because there is no place for his cows to graze. He was to relocate to the Awe LGA of Nasarawa State but information got to us that the area was occupied and no herdsman or herdsmen should cross over to the area again.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to intervene to quickly make provision for herdsmen in Benue State before they lose everything they have.”

WHY I CAN'T PAY WORKERS' SALARIES - GOV. ORTOM

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has urged striking civil servants to understand that Benue State’s financial constraints have made it difficult for it to meet their demands.

Workers across the state downed tools on Tuesday, after going several months without pay.

The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, have engaged the Ortom administration in a series of negotiations spanning months, but the talks yielded a little result, according to the union officials.

The workers, some of whom were said to have endured up to nine months without pay, accused the governor of breaking his campaign promise to prioritise their welfare, a claim the governor countered.

“We have spoken with them but they have not been fair to me because they’re always carried along about the financial situation of the state and what is shared by the government,” Mr Ortom told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview at his official residence Thursday.

“Even though I want all workers to be paid for their hard work when you don’t have what would you do?” he added.

The governor denied claims that he squandered his state’s share of the Paris Club refund, stating that 80 per cent of the windfall actually went into settling workers’ salaries.

“Eighty per cent was used for workers’ salaries,” he said of the N6.4 billion his state received from the Paris Club reimbursement in July.

Mr. Ortom said he had been grappling with massive debt he inherited from his predecessors, in a state that ranks low in internally-generated revenue.

“I have salary arrears, gratuity and pension liability of over N40 billion,” he said. “So the N6.4 billion is a drop in the ocean.”

He said prior to the industrial action, the state had resolved to pay workers bi-monthly rather than monthly while implementing a minimum wage of N18,000 per month for teachers.

“What we do is we pay one-month full salary every two months. I met a wage bill of N8.2 billion without implementation of teachers’ minimum wage, which I did,” he said.

“My IGR (internally generated revenue) is N250 million on average and I get a little over N3 billion from the federal government.

“We have other challenges like security and (the) government must run,” he added.

The governor said sharp practices in personnel payroll have also contributed adversely to the state’s financial crisis but said new measures were being put in place to expel ghost workers.

“Modified table payments will help us after eliminating ghost workers and we’ll be able to pay workers who are working as and when due.”

Benue Flood: NEMA official allegedly tells Nigerian lawyer who wants to make donation to wait till next week because "he is in his village doing Sallah"

Nigerian lawyer, Olufunke Fasunon took to Facebook to write about the poor response she received from an official of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

Read her post below:

BENUE FLOOD: NEMA DEPLOYS TEAM TO ASSIST VICTIMS

The National Emergency Management Agency has deployed a humanitarian team to Benue state to support persons affected by the recent flood that devastated large part of the state.

Director General of NEMA Engr. Mustapha Maihaja said that following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, a reinforcement of another contingent of humanitarian officers headed by Director (Search and Rescue), Air Commodore Paul Ohemu from the Headquarters in Abuja has been despatched to the State, in addition to the officers of the North Central Zonal Office in Jos, to deliver immediate humanitarian assistance to the affected persons in the various locations and assess the situation for further supports.

As an emergency response, seven (7) 30 tons truck has been despatched to the state and are due to arrive Makurdi on Friday, 1st September, 2017.

He also sympathized with the affected people and assured that NEMA would work closely with the Benue State Government in providing them with the necessary succour.

BENUE DENIES PLANS TO SLASH WORKERS SALARIES

Benue State deputy governor, Engr Benson Abounu has debunked the rumour that the state government was planing to slash workers’ salaries.

“There is no plan by the Samuel Ortom-led government to slash salaries of workers in the state, rather, there is increased interest on how to regularised the payment of workers salaries as and when due,” he said.

Engr Abounu, who is the chairman, State Emergency Committee on Salary Payment, disclosed that the main agenda of the committee was to work out modalities that would ensure the regular payment of workers salaries as well as the payment of the back-log of arrears.

Abounu stated that at no time did either Governor Ortom or himself contemplate slashing workers’ salaries, that the government is considering looking at standardizing the salary structure established by the past administration, which he partly blames for the high wage bill of the state.

The deputy governor also disclosed that aside the salary structure which is against all norms, the salary payment system is bogged down by several leakages caused by criminal collusion between some corrupt government officials and bank officials, these are the issues which the on-going screening exercise is expected to address.

Engr Abounu who said that the total number of people drawing salaries from the government is far in excess of the actual workers of the state assured that the Committee will get it right this time and called for the understanding and support of Benue workers, noting that it is in the best interest of the Benue people that only genuine workers draw salaries from government.

On the issue of anti-open grazing law, Engr Abounu said the decision is irrevocable and that anyone that desires to rear cattle in the state must get ranches for their herds in keeping with international standard.

The deputy governor who described as shocking the killing of Dr Tavershima Adyorough by yet to be identified gunmen said the late Principal Special Assistant to the Governor on Knowledge Economy and Investments lived a simple and quiet life and never raised his voice against anyone.

“I wonder what could be responsible for his killing more so that nothing was taken from his residence by the gunmen”

It could be recalled that early August, 2017, the organized labour in Benue State gave Governor Samuel Ortom an ultimatum to clear salary arrears by the end of the month or face industrial action.