My herdsmen/Fulani profiling feud with Ortom regrettable – Gov Mohammed
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, yesterday, described the feud between him and his Benue counterpart, Governor Samuel Ortom, triggered by differences in opinion on herdsmen/Fulani profiling, as very regrettable.
Mohammed expressed the regret at Government House, Port- Harcourt, Rivers State, where the host, Governor Nyesom Wike and Adamawa state counterpart, Governor Ahmed Fintiri, reconciled the feuding governors.
Following a warm embrace between Ortom and Mohammed, after the truce brokered by Wike and Fintiri, the Bauchi Governor said, “We don’t mean to divide the country, to divide our people. We are still friends and brothers and we will move forward because most of these issues are fully resolved.
“Whatever misconception generated, that me and my brother, Ortom are having problem or with anybody in Nigeria is not true.
“What happened was just an explanation that emanated from a larger Governors’ Forum that we spoke on the security of the nation and talked of the failure of security infrastructure, which everybody knows is under purview of the Federal Government”.
Ortom, in gratitude to Wike and Fintiri for their intervention said, “We have accepted that it was wrong of us to have that kind of outburst. From today, we have learnt.
“We are all fallible humans and are subject to mistakes. And when we make mistakes, it is a plus for us if we correct them. Moving forward, we shall live together. The Fulani and Tiv people have cohabitated for a long time and there is no issue whatsoever.
“We look forward to Federal Government stooping down to conquer, by accepting that, yes, they have failed so that together, the state and local governments can come together to find lasting solution to this country.
“As at today, there is no equity, no fairness, no justice in our country. That is why everywhere in Nigeria, there are issues. So, we look forward to Federal Government partnering with us. This time, we need not talk about partisan politics.
“We must come together, not to talk ethnicity or religion. We must come together as brothers and sisters, who have no other country than Nigeria, to work together towards a common cause that will solve the problem we have”.
Thanking Ortom and Fintiri for yielding a mutual reconciliation, Governor Wike gave “God the glory that the differences have been sorted out. We are members of one political party. As the Bauchi and Benue Governors said, we don’t want the inefficiency, incapacity of the Federal Government in handling the issues of insecurity in the country to rub on us”.
