I cannot abandon Wike, he is a trusted, dependable ally – Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State at a banquet in honour of governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State in Makurdi on Sunday, declared that he cannot abandon Governor Wike because he has proved to be a trusted and dependable ally.

Ortom noted  that Wike was the first person to speak up when Fulani herdsmen attacked him, saying that the Rivers Governor declared then that ‘if they kill him, they have killed Nigeria’.

Ortom said that Wike did not keep quiet, but spoke without any fear.

According to Ortom, “when Benue was under siege, he donated N250 million and he subsequently spent over N700 million to support the state to tackle the humanitarian crisis occasioned by the unwarranted attacks.

“He did not stop at that. He convinced Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State to also assist the state and he donated N200 million to us.”

Ortom further said that Wike donated N200 million to each  of the two markets were burnt in the Benue State.

The Benue governor declared: “Is he not a worthy friend? He is a worthy friend and we are working together to liberate the country.”

Ortom stated that he would not support the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, adding that any supporter of Atiku is his enemy.

“I am not going to support any Fulani man to continue to do injustice to my people unless my people tell me to do otherwise,” Ortom said.

Governor Wike appreciated Ortom for the honour he had given to them. He said that nobody can separate them no matter the blackmail, stating that they are bonded.

“People want to break us but they cannot, we are bonded, therefore, we cannot be separated,” Wike said.