Benue State House of Assembly Speaker Titus Uba has praised Governor Samuel Ortom for his peace-building initiatives.
He said peace is critical to the progress of the state in the governor’s second term.
Uba said Ortom is now free to use his initiatives to govern and foster development because he is not teleguided by any godfather.
The Speaker spoke in Lagos, shortly after attending the conference of 36 Speakers of the House of Assembly organised by the Nigerian Institute for Lagislative and Democratic Studies.
He said: “We are now having peace becuase the anti-open grazing law is now in place. That was the basis of the crisis. Now that the law has come to stay, we have relative peace.
“There are communal crises due to border issues, farmland issues. An inter-state conference with Taraba State has been held. We had robust deliberations on border issues. The two governments agreed that there should be an end to the crisis.”
Uba said during Ortom’s first time, he faced the challenges of insecurity and godfatherism, adding that he will perform better in his second term because some of the problems have been resolved.
The Speaker hailed the governor for focusing on infrastructural development and welfare of workers.
Uba spoke on the challenges of the national minimum wage, saying that states and the Federal Government should sit together to reconsider it.
He feared that some states may not be able to cope, owing to the meagre allocation from the Federal Government.
Uba stressed: “The last minimum wage was implemented in Benue. The governor wants improvement in the wages of workers. He will implement it before he leaves office.”
The Speaker lamented that Benue’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is small, adding that the federal allocation to the state is also small.
He also lamented that, at a time, Benue was being run on over-draft.
However, Uba thanked Ortom for paying salaries in the last two years.
He assured that the governor will also pay the arrears in his bid to enhance the welfare of workers.
Uba said the state faced serious political crises, particularly during the last general elections.
In his view, politicians heated up the Northcentral state in their disperation for power.
He thanked the people for supporting the governor to retain power.
Uba said: “Governor Ortom enjoys the goodwill of the people of Benue. He has their mandate to perform. In his second term, he is not under the influence of godfatherism. He has initiatives. He has been restoring peace in the state. We need peace so that there can be development.”