Benue PDP Rejects Claims Ortom Gave Federal Government Land for Ranches

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The Benue State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the claim by the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Solomon Iorpev, that former Governor Samuel Ortom granted the Federal Government land in the state to establish ranches in 2017.

The PDP described the allegation as false and misleading, saying it was an attempt to rewrite the history of the state for political reasons.

The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Solomon Iorpev, shortly after his swearing in and maiden State Executive Council meeting on Friday, told journalists that “On the 16th of October 2017, the previous administration had given the Federal Government liberty to go ahead and create ranches within this area.

Iorpev who stated that the state government is still consulting with the people on the policy said “Government is a continuum, we have inherited that and the Government is taking steps to establish or rather make requests move into this areas…”

But the party, in a statement signed by its State Secretary, Comrade Dan Nyikwagh, on Sunday, said the claim was “blatantly false, mischievous and completely unfounded.”

The party said Chief Ortom signed the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law on May 22, 2017, after consultations with relevant stakeholders.

It said the law provided a six-month transition period and was expected to take effect in November of the same year.

The PDP argued that there was no provision in the law granting the Federal Government any portion of Benue land for ranching.

The statement read, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017 was signed into law by Governor Samuel Ortom on May 22, 2017, following extensive consultations with stakeholders. The law provided a six-month transition period and was to take effect in November 2017.

“Therefore, as at October 2017, the law was already in existence. There was no provision in that law granting the Federal Government any portion of Benue land for the establishment of ranches.

“Indeed, the idea that Governor Ortom would, on October 16, 2017, secretly grant land to the Federal Government for ranching while the state was implementing legislation specifically designed to prohibit open grazing and regulate ranch establishment is so fundamentally contradictory that it requires more than a press briefing to make it believable.”

The party therefore challenged Commissioner Iorpev to produce the document supporting his claim that such land was granted on October 16, 2017 stating that the alleged land grant could only be established through an official document such as an Executive Council resolution, government correspondence, gazette or land allocation instrument. It maintained that no such document existed.

The PDP also described the claim as contradictory, noting that the Ortom administration was already implementing legislation aimed at prohibiting open grazing and regulating ranching in the state. It said Benue residents clearly remembered the debates and struggles surrounding the law.

The party urged the commissioner to either produce evidence of the alleged land grant or withdraw the claim, warning against distorting the state’s history of the state.

The PDP said Benue people would not accept attempts to rewrite the history of the state for political convenience insisting that the former Governor Ortom did not hand over Benue land to the Federal Government for ranches.