Those pushing for open grazing have hidden agenda, Ortom warns

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Thursday said those pushing for open grazing of cattle have a hidden agenda, and therefore shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Ortom made the remark at Holy Ghost Parish Hall in Makurdi while delivering his speech on the occasion of ‘Media Week and Communications Day 2021’, organised by the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi.

 The governor said that his southern counterparts had chosen the right path to address insecurity.

 He maintained that Nigeria remains a great country with huge potentials and should, ordinarily, have no business with poverty if only there were guaranteed security for lives and property and the people are allowed to remain stable in their localities.

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 Ortom expressed appreciation to the Church and Muslims in Benue state as well as residents for being supportive of his administration just as he acknowledged the good reportage of government policies and programmes by the Directorate of Social Communication, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi.

 The governor also hinted his administration’s plans to commence teaching of vernacular in schools in the next academic session, adding that children must be trained and supported to inculcate reading in them, even as he described communication as key in the society.

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On his part, the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Most Reverend Wilfred Anagbe, said that social communication was meant to uplift humanity and the society, emphasising that it remains a positive aspect of the reality of life and not the other way round.

Anagbe also advocated for teaching of history and vernacular in primary and secondary schools in the state as he maintained that language defines a man and so should not be allowed to go extinct