The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has drawn the ire of Nigerians for saying that with President Muhammadu Buhari’s sickness, the nation and indeed all Nigerians are sick.
He said he and six of his colleagues that visited the ailing President in London last week advised the Nigerian leader not to be in a hurry to return to the country.
He said the governors told Buhari, who left the country on May 7, 2017, to stay back in the British capital until he was completely healed.
Ortom stated this on Thursday in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid growing speculations that the President was due back in the country.
The governor was part of the delegation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum that visited the President last week.
Others on the delegation were Abdullazeez Yari (Zamfara); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Umar Ganduje (Kano); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).
Ortom said Buhari was mentally alert throughout the period the governors spent with him, adding that their discussion centred on security and happenings in various states of the country.
He urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the Nigerian leader, saying, “Once the President is sick, the whole country is sick.”
He said, “I was the first person that initiated prayers and I shouted halleluyah when I saw him because God has answered my prayers. I urge both Christians and Muslims to pray for Mr. President because that is our duty.
“There is no power without God’s ordination. So those of us who are subjects should continue to pray. We should not be castigating Mr. President or wishing him evil.
“We should be praying for him. If Mr. President is sick, it means all of us are sick; the whole country is sick. It is our responsibility to pray that Mr. President get well so that our country too will be well.
“Mr. President is doing well. When we saw him, he was not in a wheelchair, he was not bedridden. He greeted us, we cracked jokes and he was mentally alert. We discussed about the security situation in the country and he asked us questions about what we are doing.
“Our prayer is that God will consummate his healing. We asked him not to hurry because there is no vacuum. The Acting President is holding forth for him and he is doing very well. By the grace of God, I believe that very soon, he will be with us.”
The governor also expressed surprise that a former Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav, has continued to make unfounded allegations against him.
He said Tsav had earlier apologised to him on the matter, but he told the former commissioner that he was not comfortable with a secret apology. He said the Tor Tiv, who was present during the discussion, asked Tsav to tender a public apology within two weeks so that he (Ortom) would withdraw the suit he instituted against Tsav.
He said, “The Tor Tiv gave him two weeks to tender a public apology, but he turned back to launch another attack.
“I want the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or any organisation that he has written petitions against me to investigate whether the allegations are true or not. That is why I decided to go to court since I am a law-abiding governor.”
