George Akume, senator representing Benue north-west, says the farmers-herders crisis will not affect the chances of President Muhammadu Buhari in the state during the 2019 general election.
Akume said this on Friday after meeting with the president alongside some Benue All Progressives Congress (APC) members.
Adams Oshiomhole, APC national chairman; Emmanuel Jime, Benue APC governorship candidate; and Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture, were among those at the meeting.
“When you talk of farmers-herders clash, have you heard of farmers-herders clash in Benue again? No. We know those who were behind that. Government were behind that through the livestock guards, they knew what was going on,” the senator said.
He said the crisis is now a thing of the past, adding that Buhari has worked tirelessly to turn around the fortunes of the country.
“When you talk of security, Boko Haram had taken over virtually the whole of Borno and Yobe states. That is different today,” he said.
“Yes, there is occasional incursion in some of the areas by Boko Haram remnants. Even America, which is one of the most powerful countries in the world, has not been able to subdue the guerilla elements in Afghanistan. They are still hitting.
“So our performance is much better. I’m not saying we are America but when you talk about guerrilla warfare, there is no way you can completely wrap it up between two days or one year.
“In agriculture, look at a lot of initiatives in that area. So when you look at it cumulatively you will know that this government is working. Three and half years and the results are spectacular. Compared to what we witnessed in the past 16 years of the PDP administration and they are coming back again, they want to take over.
“If people could share N2.5 billion meant to buy arms and ammunition and kill our sons and daughters who they forcefully sent on harm’s way, then of course those people do not deserve to see this place again. Those people do not deserve that. And to show you how wicked these people were, some of these people managed to escape, they were still arrested and tried for escaping.”
