The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has donated assorted relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and victims of the Agatu crisis in Benue.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs. Buhari, who was in Benue, on Wednesday, to empathise with the state government on the recent farmers/herdsmen crisis, was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Oludolapo Osinbajo.
Donating the materials at Nogowa Secondary School, Wadata Camp, Makurdi, Mrs Buhari commiserated with the bereaved families, saying that the government was committed to their plight.
She said that the Federal Government understood what the victims were passing through and assured them that government would not abandon them at this point of their sufferings.
“I have heard and seen your cries. Cry no more, for we are with you,” she said through Mrs Osinbajo.
“Today in Benue I have seen old and young men, women and children in the camp and I can see that they have gone through a lot of pains.
“I have seen that by their looks, it is evident that they are tired of living in the camps but they have no homes because their homes have been destroyed.
“We are really worried about your situation but do not lose hope we are with you, and we will never abandon you at this point of your need.”
Earlier in his remarks, Gov. Samuel Ortom appealed to the Federal Government to tighten security at boarders to end the continued influx of foreign herdsmen into the state.
Ortom explained that foreign herdsmen were behind the incessant attacks on his people since 2011.
The governor said, “Unless they are chased out, it would be hard to maintain peace in the country.
“These herdsmen are very destructive and well-armed. They kill women and children on sight.
“They are completely different from the Fulani’s that we have lived and cohabited with over the years.
“We understand that the herdsmen came from Mali, Ghana, Congo, Niger among others and are killing us every day with impunity. This must stop.
“As we speak, over eight Local Governments have been affected across the state. The situation is really overwhelming,” said the governor.
The governor said that there was no land for grazing in the state, explaining that all lands belong to farmers in the state.
He said that 85 per cent of the state population were farmers and occupied the little available land, adding that it would be difficult to create a grazing reserve in the state.
He suggested that the herdsmen should rather embrace ranches as it was being practiced in developed countries.
NAN reports that Mrs. Buhari donated rice, multivitamins supplements, cooking oil, garri, tomatoes to the Benue IDPs.
