Wase vs Gbillah: Gov Ortom fires back at Deputy Speaker for rejecting petition from Benue people

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has described as shocking, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Hon Idris Wase’s rejection of a petition from the Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA), brought before the House by the member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency, Hon Mark Gbillah.

The Governor stated that the action of the House Deputy Speaker amounts to suppression of the people’s voice; a development he said contravenes the very principles upon which the country’s democracy is built.

Ortom in a statement by his media aide, Terver Akase, stressed that Nigerians home and abroad have a right as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (amended) to express their feelings about affairs of their country.

Governor Ortom said the condition of thousands of people who have been displaced from their ancestral homes as a result of herdsmen attacks and now live in camps in Benue State deserves the attention and support of other Nigerians. He appreciates the Mutual Union of Tiv in America, as well as other concerned groups for their solidarity.

The Governor pointed out that the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission was established to cater for the affairs of the country’s citizens living abroad, and wonders why anyone would now claim to be oblivious of the significant contributions Nigerians living in other countries make to their fatherland.

He commended Hon Mark Gbillah for his calm disposition despite Hon Wase’s utterances and urges the Gwer West representative not to be discouraged from championing causes in the interest of his people.

Governor Ortom said he expected the House of Representatives to overrule the Deputy Speaker and accept the MUTA petition as well as patriotic concerns of other Nigerians bordering on state of the nation.

He equally called on the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to intervene in the matter, in order to prevent a repeat of the ugly scenario in the future.