The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has made a public apology after his viral statement that he won’t support a Fulani man to become the President of Nigeria.
Speaking on Wednesday in Bauchi State, Ortom said his statement might have been taken out of context.
It would be recalled that Ortom on Sunday while playing host to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 Governors in Benue State, said he would not be supporting the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
Ortom said he would not support Atiku who is not concerned about the continuous killings of the Benue people.
The Benue State Governor while lamenting the killing of people in his local government last week said, “to hell with Atiku and anyone supporting him.”
He noted that anyone supporting the presidential ambition of Atiku in 2023 is an enemy of Benue State.
However, fielding questions from journalists in Bauchi on Wednesday during a visit to Governor Bala Mohammed, Ortom apologized to Nigerians for his comment.
He added that he understands that people could easily misinterpret his statement but he had no intention of causing any ethnic war or heating up the polity.
“I want to apologize to Nigerians who might have felt offended by my recent statement where I was quoted that I will not support a Fulani man becoming Nigeria’s president, I never meant it that way. I want to say that, that was not what I meant when I was captured; but all the same, I know that it would amount to a logical fallacy if people have taken it the way I did, but I want to say to those who are so offended by my remarks, I am very sorry, I didn’t mean that,” he said.
