Youths attack Buhari over comments on grazing

Benue youths under the auspices of Tiv Youths Organisation (TYO) have lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari over comments he made as to why Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, left the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition.

While addressing the Nigerian community in Dubai during the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), Buhari was quoted to have said that Ortom left the APC owing to unresolved issues concerning open-grazing of cattle in Benue State.

His comments were however faulted by the TYO in a statement issued by its President General, Timothy Hembaor, who frowned at the President’s comment, saying, “It was a confirmation of Buhari’s anti-Benue posturing, adding that by the statement, Ortom’s lack of confidence in federal authorities to protect his people has been confirmed.”

Hembaor described as laughable the assertion by President Buhari that those carrying out killings in Benue were not Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria and also took a swipe at the President over another comment credited to him that politicians converted areas that were earmarked as grazing routes in the sixties to their private farms.

“It is most saddening that President Buhari will be talking about grazing routes that were created in the sixties. What was the population of Nigeria at the time? What is the population now?

“So, you see this has clearly shown the President’s bias towards his Fulani brothers even as the President of the country and we as a body are solidly behind governor Ortom which was why we overwhelmingly voted him back into office.”