Samuel Ortom, Governor of Benue State, has said he has no rift with and does not hate President Muhammadu Buhari over their verbal clashes regarding the herdsmen crisis in the country.
Governor Ortom and Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, had engaged in a war of words over President Buhari’s alleged tacit support for herdsmen actions in the state.
President Buhari had in an interview aired on Thursday admitted that he and the Benue State Governor have had discussions on the crisis and branded the governor as being unfair to him over his utterances.
But speaking at a media briefing to mark Democracy Day on Saturday, Governor Ortom said he still prays for the president daily, acknowledging that he (Buhari) is still the country’s leader.
He recalled how the people of the state organised prayers for the president when he was having a health crisis, saying that he has no reason to hate anyone.
He, however, admitted that they both have some disagreement over policies not favourable to the people of the state.
He said: “I am a Christian; born again for that matter. And I have no reason to hate anyone. The president is my president.
“I pray for the president every day in my devotion. When the president was sick, Benue state was the first state that organised prayers for him under my watch.
“We can disagree on policy issues. But I don’t hate the president. My president is Muhammadu Buhari.
“But the president cannot force me to violate the Constitution which I swore to uphold,” Ortom said concerning his relationship with the president.”
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