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| Samuel Ortom |
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has said his administration will apply the “stick approach” to solve problems in the state.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa yesterday, Ortom said the approach followed the “carrot approach” that was introduced earlier.
He noted that the carrot approach succeeded to a level because some people surrendered their arms, while many returned to their old ways because they were insincere.
Their insincerity, he said, necessitated the use of force. His words: “The carrot approach succeeded to some extent as many people surrendered their arms. But some went back to their old ways because they were insincere.
“We have now adopted the stick approach; security agencies in the state must restore safety to the state. The state must be secured from robbers, kidnappers and assassins. We need to rid our society of criminals.
“We also intend to encourage investors and they will not come if the state is not secure.”
Ortom added that his administration’s decision to declare Friday as public holidays is to allow civil servants embrace agriculture, a decision he said has been yielding result.
“It is the right way to go; if we do not have money to do other things, we should have money to sustain ourselves,” he said.
The governor said he was at the State House to brief the Presidency of efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.
