Ortom, Mohammed settle rifts over AK-47 comments

BAUCHI State Governor, Bala Mohammed and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom buried their hatchets today after weeks of claims, counter-claims and even name-calling over the security situation in the country.

Mohammed had on February 12 said Fulani herders have no option but to carry AK-47 to protect their lives and livelihoods which are being threatened by cattle rustlers.

He also condemned South-West, South-East Governors, and also Governor Ortom over the manner in which they were handling farmer-herder clashes.

But barely a week after making the statement, Ortom fired back and questioned the constitutionality of his counterpart’s position on the issue of arm-bearing.

He added that Mohammed’s utterances were unbecoming of a governor.

The Benue State governor did not stop there he labelled Mohammed a “terrorist governor “for  throwing his weight behind arm-bearing Fulani herdsmen.

Ortom also accused Mohammed of being a part of those threatening his life stressing that the Bauchi governor should be held responsible if anything happens to him.

Following the altercation between the two governors, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the platform on which they were elected into office waded into their conflict.

Also, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and his Adamawa counterpart, Ahmadu Fintiri, initiated reconciliation efforts.

The efforts seemed to have yielded the desired result as both Mohammed and Orton were seen embracing each other after the meeting which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State today.