Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, on Wednesday, described as shocking the action of the deputy speaker of House of Representatives, Hon Idris Wase’s rejection of a petition from the Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA).
In a press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terver Akase, Governor Ortom said that the rejection of the petition by the deputy speaker was an action to suppress people’s voice, a development, he said contravened the very principles which the country’s democracy is built.
Ortom said that Nigerians home and abroad have a right as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (amended) to express their feelings about the affairs of their country.
The governor argued that 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.
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According to the statement, “The Governor points 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.
“Governor Ortom expects 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 calls on the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to intervene in the matter, in order to prevent a repeat of the ugly scenario in the future.
He commended Hon Mark Gbillah for his calm disposition despite Hon Wase’s utterances and urged him not to be deterred from championing causes in the interest of his people.
Wase’s rejection of MUTA petition, suppression of people’s voice ― Ortom