Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has urged Nigerians to put aside sentiments on account of religion and ethnicity and work together in combating banditry and other forms of crime pervading the country.
Governor Ortom who made the appeal at a press briefing in Abuja said the criminals who have been killing people across the country do not distinguish among their victims.
He restated his call on the Federal Government to upgrade the policy on gun licence in a way that credible people would be allowed to own sophisticated weapons to protect themselves against the criminals.
The Governor explained that the measure would deter the criminals from carrying out their nefarious activities, thereby ushering peace that would enhance investment and economic growth.
He noted that with the little improvement of the security situation in Benue, his Government was working with the Central Bank to commence large scale land clearing across the state to encourage farming activities.
He stated that the two billion naira put together by the Government in collaboration with the Bank of Industries was also available to be accessed by owners of Small and Medium Enterprises to grow their businesses.
Governor Ortom said his administration would continue to rehabilitate township roads in major towns of the state and enjoined the Federal Government to do the same by rehabilitating its roads in the state to ease the movement of people.
He also appealed to the Federal Government to fulfil its promise of dredging River Benue to save the state from the yearly flooding that has destroyed property worth billions of naira.
