Sunday, September 6, 2026

2023 elections unlikely if insecurity persists: Ortom

Mr Ortom on Tuesday told reporters at the Presidential Villa that the country is sitting on a keg of gun powder without meaningful progress being made on the issue of security.

• March 23, 2021
Samuel Ortom (Credit: Benue State Government Website)
Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom (Credit: Benue State Government Website)

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has predicted that the 2023 election will not hold if insecurity persists in the country.

The governor’s assertion comes three days after he was attacked at Tyo Mu along Makurdi/Gboko road in Makurdi Local Government Area of the state by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.

Mr Ortom on Tuesday told reporters at the Presidential Villa that the country is sitting on a keg of gun powder without meaningful progress being made on the issue of security.

While debunking rumours of faking his attack, the governor noted that the 15 gunmen who attack him on his way to his farm were not staged-managed.

He, however, urged Nigerians not to politicise the issue of attempted assassination on his person. He , however, called for the provisions of the constitution to be protected to enable equity, fairness, and justice in the country.

The governor accused the President Buhari led-administration of allowing immunity to fester, urging the federal authorities to immediately prosecute anyone found culpable of breaching the law.

He said “the demand by the cattle breeders association, Miyetti Allah, to repeal the law would be impossible to fulfill, because it went through due process, hence the matter is clearly beyond him”, praying his recent experience should not happen to anyone.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Robin Morgan

Heading 2

American feminist writer Robin Morgan dies at 85

Credited with coining “herstory” (history from a woman’s perspective), Ms Morgan wrote the popular Sisterhood anthology series and authored over 20 books during her lifetime.

Convicted Mr Dunu

NationWide

NDLEA nabs convicted businessman behind cocaine shipments to Saudi Arabia

The agency said the arrest occurred weeks after it intercepted a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)

Politics

2027: Lagos PRP chairman calls for opposition unity  

Lagos State PRP chairman, James Adeshina, urged opposition unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Datti Baba-Ahmed, Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

Heading 1

Tinubu more brutal than past military dictators, says Datti Baba-Ahmed

“The person ruling Nigeria today is doing what even military rulers did not do. Tinubu is doing what IBB, Abacha, Abdulsalam, and others combined didn’t do,” he said.

Abandoned industrial facility

Heading 5

Stakeholders ‌⁠‍‍⁠⁠‌‍‌⁠‍⁠⁠‌seek revival of state-owned moribund industries in Ekiti, Osun, Ondo

Stakeholders said reviving the moribund companies would help move the states from civil-service dependence to thriving industrial hubs.

House of Reps speaker, Tajudeen Abbas

NationWide

Tajudeen dissolves all House of Reps ad hoc committees

The clerk said that activities being carried out in the name of such committees should cease forthwith.