Wike: Benue residents voted for Buhari — they deserve his care

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, says the federal government is taking care of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-east but has neglected those in Benue.

Speaking with journalists on Saturday in Makurdi after paying a visit to Samuel Ortom, his Benue counterpart, Wike said the federal government should care for Benue and its IDPs because the people voted for President Muhammadu Buhari.

Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, won in Benue in the 2019 presidential election. Buhari won in the state in the 2015 presidential election.

While condemning the killings in Benue, the Rivers governor said he supports Ortom because they both hate injustice.

The governor said Ortom gave him good counsel when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state was having issues.

“That is what I followed… and so you are a good man who gives good advice,” he said.

When asked if he was nursing a presidential ambition, Wike said what is paramount is building a formidable PDP ahead of the 2023 polls.

On his part, Ortom described Wike as “a pillar of support to the PDP and a shining star in the political history of Nigeria”.

The Benue governor said his Rivers counterpart is working to rebuild the PDP in order to rescue Nigeria from a “spineless leadership”.

Ortom said Wike was instrumental in his return to the PDP in 2019 and that he has remained supportive both in good and trying times.