2023: Southern presidency gathers momentum as Ortom, Southern Rep Caucus endorse demand

Gov.Ortom

The quest for southern presidency in 2023 has gathered more momentum as Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom and the members of the House of Representatives from all the 17 Southern states backed the demand by the Southern Governors’ Forum for the next president to come from the region.

In a statement released by Ndudi Elumelu and signed by 20 lawmakers, across the two major political parties and from the three geopolitical zones, the federal lawmakers lauds the decisions of the governors.

The statement read in part: “ The “position is in a firm restatement of our insistence that our nation must exist and govern on the platform of democratic tenets of social justice, equity, fairness, mutual respect, true federalism, rule of law and constitutional order, and we are ready to deploy all legislative instruments at our disposal for actualization.

Against this backdrop, the members of the House of Representatives from the South, without regard to any other affiliations, firmly support our governors on the immediate ban on open cattle grazing across Southern Nigeria.”

Also, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has commended his colleagues from the southern part for their positions on open grazing and power rotation, saying only equity, fairness and justice could strengthen the unity of Nigeria, give all citizens a sense of belonging and reduce tensions in the country.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, the Ortom described the decision of “The Southern Governors’ Forum to enact laws to ban open grazing of livestock in the region as a bold and patriotic move that will end the lingering crisis caused by armed herdsmen.”