Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has described as unacceptable the action of security personnel at the main entrance of Air Force Base, Makurdi, the state capital, who denied him access to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The security personnel on Saturday stopped the governor and his convoy at the gate of the Air Force Base.
Ortom was going to receive the Vice President, who was on his way to Wukuri, Taraba State, en route Benue to attend the convocation of the Federal University, Wukari, but was stopped by the security personnel on the basis that they were not informed about the governor’s visit to the base to receive the Vice President.
Reacting in a statement by Nathaniel Ikyur, his Chief Press Secretary, Ortom condemned the action, describing it as politics taken too far.
The statement reads;
The governor described the action by the security personnel as unacceptable, breach of protocol and politics taken too far. He expressed regret that he had set out to attend the burial of Prof Ignatius Ayua but had to delegate his deputy in order to receive the Vice President when he received communication via a letter from the presidency intimating him of the vice president’s transit visit.
The letter which was signed by Ambassador Abdullahi Gwary said the Vice President would return through the same route in the afternoon.
Ortom noted;
Unfortunately, on getting to the main gate of the air force, security personnel at the entrance said the governor’s convoy won’t be allowed in because according to them, they were not informed about the governor’s visit to the base to receive the Vice President. The governor wondered why he should be treated like that by the airforce personnel in the state where he is the chief security officer of the state.
He added;
He vowed to report the matter to the Vice President for necessary action, stressing that there should be a clear difference between politics and governance.
