The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Monday asked security agencies to fish out the killers of his Principal Special Assistant on Knowledge Economy and Investment, Dr. Tavershima Adyorough.
He vowed to stop assassination of innocent citizens in the state.
The governor, however, denied claim that the state government has directed Fulani herdsmen to leave the state.
He also asked those calling for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari to go for medical checks.
Ortom, who spoke with journalists in Abuja shortly after returning from an investment drive to China, said he was saddened by the assassination of his aide.
The brutal killing of Adyorough was the fourth of such incident since Ortom became the governor of Benue State.
He said: “My aide was killed, I feel so sad. While I was away, I received the sad news about the brutal assassination of my personal aide, someone who was very close to me, Dr. Tavershima Adyorough. He worked with me while I served the National Assembly and as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was my assistant and then I found him worthy when I won election. He became my Principal Special Assistant on Knowledge Economy and Investment.
“He was knowledgeable and well learned and for him to have been assassinated at this time in the history of state and country where we need people with broad knowledge to support us to succeed in our hard times, some people came to assassinate him. I feel very sad and this is something I am not going to take likely.
“I have already spoken with security agencies; as a law-abiding man, they go out and fish out the killers because this cannot be allowed to continue.
“Wasting lives, someone who is well trained in his field and has been doing very well, for him to be terminated at this particular time, I feel it is something that we are going to fight to make sure it does not continue and I believe the security men are going to do justice to this brutal killing.”
The governor said he never gave herdsmen any ultimatum to leave the state because of the enactment of Grazing Bill.
He said the “so-called” ultimatum was the handwork of opposition in the state to destabilize his administration.
He added: “Nigerians and herdsmen and all well-meaning Nigerians who wish Nigeria well should disregard that threat. It is coming from the opposition party and it is meant to destabilize my government. There is no basis for that ultimatum whatsoever.
“There is no reason for some youths to come together to say they are giving ultimatum. We are law-abiding state, when we were faced with this issue of herdsmen, what we did was to do the right and needful thing by ensuring that we go through due process and put a law in place and that we have successfully done. But the law is not meant to give ultimatum to Fulani men to leave the state or any man breeding cattle or livestock in general to leave the state.
“Everybody is free irrespective of your tribe, you are free to do livestock business. What is required today is to ranch and that is what we are saying.”
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