Ochi Emmanuel Ode, Chairman of the Middle Belt Traditional Council (MBTC), South-West geo-political zone, has implored Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to give the people dividends of democracy.
Ode described the performance of the governor in his first term as a colossal failure.
Ode, who holds the title of the Oji Kpururu 1 of Ibilla Benue State, who spoke exclusively to NEXT EDITION in Lagos, maintained that with his second term victory, Ortom should now learn better the art of governance.
He said: “If it is true that experience is the best teacher, he (Ortom) should try to reduce the cost of governance to the barest minimum to meet his campaign promises.
“His first term was a colossal failure. He should re-write his history to Benue people and have a place for posterity.”
The MBTC chairman told Ortom to take the welfare of workers in Benue State seriously by paying them as at when due, and ensure that pensioners would be given their stipends so that they would not die prematurely after serving their fatherland.
“He should embark on infrastructural development that wiuld have bearing on the people. He should ensure safety of lives and properties and encourage farmers in the real sense of it, not by propaganda, because he knows too well that Benue is an agrarian state. Nothing short of these things will meet the expectations of Benue people.”
He said Ortom did not impact well in any sector due to the influence of his now estranged godfather, adding that now that the governor had regained his freedom, and still retained the support of the people, he should justify the trust the people had on him by giving them dividends of democracy.
Ode lamented that the way the bail-out funds and Paris Club Refunds were spent by the Ortom administration had remained a mystery since the state’s workers were still not paid, adding that for Ortom, the time for blame games and bulk passing was over.
He maintained that Ortom should sit up now by giving the people of Benue State real dividends of democracy, which was why he was voted for, so that his name would be written in gold at the end of his second term.
