Benue people are very accommodating, friendly – Obasanjo   

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has vowed to bounce back following the burning of his mango farm in Benue State.

IDOMA VOICE reports that Obasanjo’s mango farm was a few weeks ago set on fire by hoodlums in Gwer East Local Government area of Benue.

The former President said his investment would not be deterred by the burning of the 17000 mango tree plantations, saying he would bounce back and increase the direct workforce from a meagre 150 to over 1000.

Obasanjo, spoke on Friday while hosting a delegation from the Benue community, where the farm is located, at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State,

In a statement made on Friday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the ex-president said the incident was “not the true reflection of the people of Benue State, pleading that “the action should not scare away investors, because Benue people are very accommodating and friendly.”

“If the government has not paid any compensation to any family or that they have not been adequately compensated, burning of the farm was not the best to do,” he advised.

The Balogun Owu revealed that his plan for the project was to provide at least 1,000 jobs directly, both on the farm and when the processing factory takes off, stressing that the loss was for both the investors and the 150 employees.

He assured the Benue leaders that, “we are not going to leave the area. We are looking at what we can do when the rain starts.”

The delegation, led by the Chairman of the Gwer East Traditional Council, Dr. Dominc Akpe, was accompanied by the House of Assembly member representing Gwer East Constituency, Hon Geoffrey Agbatse, Chairman Gwer East Local Government, Hon Ortserga Emmanuel among others.