Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday granted amnesty to 43 convicts in the state prisons to mark the 2017 Democracy Day.
He announced the amnesty at the IBB Square, Makurdi, where the governor also flagged-off the 2017 cropping season and sales of fertilizer at a subsidised cost to farmers.
Meanwhile, the governor listed some of the achievements of his administration in the last two years to include establishment of agroprocessing factories, execution of over 500 water projects as well as facelift of schools across the state.
Ortom, who explained that the amnesty was in exercising his constitutional powers as the state governor and on the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, however, announced the government’s subsidy on assorted fertilizer for which the farmers would be required to pay only N4,000 per bag.
While pledging his administration’s support for farmers to access loans from the apex bank and other financial institutions for the development of the value chain of cash crops, the governor stated that his administration had successful executed the amnesty programme, secured accreditation of health institutions in the state, leading to the graduation of 152 medical doctors from the Benue State University and resumption of academic activities at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Makurdi.
Ortom, while reeling out the achievements of his administration, said it had completed the Oshigbudu-Obagaji, and Zaki-Biam-Gbeji Roads, which contracts were awarded by the previous administration.
