Fulani Nationality Movement vows to get Ortom removed as Benue governor next February

CATTLE herdsmen association the Fulani Nationality Movement (Funam) has vowed to mobilise its members across the country to unseat Benue State governor Samuel Ortom in the coming 2019 general elections.

Over the last year, Governor Ortom has been involved in a bitter dispute with Fulani cattle herdsmen in Benue State over their constant destruction of farmland across the state. In response to their menace, the governor introduced the Benue Grazing Law which confines herdsmen to specified ranches and prohibits the herdsmen from allowing their cattle to roam freely across the state.

In response to the measure, the herdsmen have stepped up their attacks on farming villages across the state, killing hundreds of innocent farmers. At the height of the dispute, Governor Ortom decided to ditch the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform he will now stand next February.

However, Funam president Alhaji Salisu Ahmadu and its secretary, Umar Shehu, have accused the governor of conniving with personnel of his Operation Whirl Stroke organisation to chase them out of Benue State.  They maintained that their members would rally support for any governorship candidate who would ensure their safety and protect their business interest in the state.

In a recent statement they said: “We are aware that Governor Ortom is not only in support of the inhuman treatment and callous attacks on our members but he is the major source of financial and logistical supports to the soldiers who are out to eliminate us from the state. Our helpless members have lost thousands of cows in the last ten months that the Operation Whirl Stroke came into effect in Benue State.

“The sad reality is that the governor, after failing to use the Anti-Open Grazing Law to prevent us from carrying out our lawful business in his state, has now found an ally in the Nigerian military, who should be neutral at all times. We also want to make it clear that we shall mobilise our members across the country and embark on an indefinite strike, stopping the sale of beef and other dairy products if the harassment in Benue is not stopped immediately.

“We also urge our members in Benue State to ensure that they participate in the electoral process by voting to reject Governor Ortom in the forthcoming election. Our members need to stay in the Benue valley and ply their trade, hence the need to support whoever promises to accept us as the good neighbours that we are."

In a swift reaction, Governor Ortom described the allegation as spurious, shocking and unfortunate. He maintained that the Benue grazing law was a product of the people of the state which was enacted to ensure lasting peace between herders and farmers and should be respected by everyone residing in the state.