Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has on Wednesday replied his Benue State Counterpart Samuel Ortom over his recent pronouncement describing Bala Mohammed as a terrorist governor who was conniving with herdsmen to assassinate him.
The governor in a statement through his media aide Muktar Gidado says he had resolved to deescalate the tension that has gripped the country over the sacking of Fulani herdsman from Ondo State, saying “we had resolved not to join issues with any other person over the position of His Excellency, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, the issue.”
The statement says disagreement between governor Ortom and Bala Mohammed national issues “does not make them enemies or provide an alibi for allegations that border on extreme criminality.
“We are therefore shocked that Governor Ortom could, in good conscience, address a fellow Governor whom, he had described as a brother, as a terrorist and who should, to wit, be placed under watch should anything untoward happen to him (Ortom).
“We want to state that Governor Ortom has carried the unfortunate theatrics, for which he is well known, to a very precipitous level of brinkmanship”, the statement added.
The statement condemned Governor Ortom, saying “We vehemently protest this recourse to criminalising Governor Bala Mohammed just for the simple reason that he holds a contrary view with his Benue State counterpart.
“Since Governor Ortom says that Governor Bala Mohammed is his brother, should we then say he is the brother of a terrorist? Should Governor Ortom, as the self-professed brother of a “terrorist”, also be placed under watch, lest he carried out terrorist attacks on others?
In a related development, governor Bala Mohammed has urged herdsmen in the country to desist from carrying dangerous weapons such as AK-47 rifles.
Governor Mohammed who made the plea in his speech at the launch of the 2020/2021 annual livestock vaccination campaign held at the Galambi Cattle Ranch, Bauchi, on Wednesday, described the Fulani people as peace-loving and humane.
“What I will do, I will not say it here, but I will do everything possible to make sure I protect you and lend support to you because I know you mean well.
“Through time and history, you have been seen to be cajoled, and lampooned but you remained humane, you remained simple, you don’t show so much aggression and of course, that humility is always what we recognized and this is what a character that should always try to show.
“Please, don’t carry the AK-47 that I made a figurative allusion to. Try to make sure that you remain peaceful.”, the governor said at the occasion.
