Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has made a U-turn on his earlier statement that the people of the State spend quality time drinking beer.
Gatekeepers News reports that Ortom had on Friday while commissioning the mega Pentecostal Church, Remnant Christian Network Embassy in Makurdi, the state capital, stated that: “If you go round Makurdi Town, our people start drinking beer from 9 am and some from there, they will go to sleep, and they come back and insult the governor for not helping them to add value to their lives.”
Following the backlash he received for the comment, the Governor on Saturday made a u-turn, saying he was referring to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue and not the citizens.
The statement made available by Ortom’s Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, read: “We wish to state categorically that the news, especially the caption is a completely mischievous misrepresentation and an attempt to ridicule the person of the governor,” the statement reads.
“The Governor was clear that most Benue people know and do appreciate the great developmental strides he is doing for them. He regretted that some of those who insult, blackmail, or castigate him unnecessarily, specifically are a few and from the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC who sit in beer parlours for long hours and have conditioned their minds to malign him no matter how much he has done.
“He was clear how these APC supporters do that without cogent or issue-based criticisms but simply out of mischief. He was also clear that critics of his administration should offer constructive criticisms as he does to the federal government.
“At that function in question, which was the Dedication and Inaugural Service of RCN Embassy Church, Makurdi, Governor Ortom specifically asked the people of Benue State and indeed Nigerians to continue to pray for him and other leaders including President Muhammadu Buhari rather than always criticising him. He quoted from the Bible where the scriptures asked Christians to pray for their leaders and all those in authority.”
Ortom, according to the statement, acknowledges how the people of Benue, in 2015 and 2019, displayed their love for him by electing him governor twice.
