Benue killings: Lalong visits Ortom, apologises again

Governor Solomon Lalong of Plateau State, on Tuesday, led a delegation of Plateau elders to Benue State on a sympathy visit.
The visit, it was gathered, was to both commiserate with the government and people of the state for the herdsmen invasion of the state in which over 70 people were killed, and also to formally tender his (Governor Lalong’s) apology to  his Benue State counterpart for saying he warned him (Governor Ortom) against the Anti-Open Grazing law.
Governor Lalong, who was represented by the Plateau State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Barr. Fetus Fwamtel, while noting that Benue and Plateau states had lost over 7,000 people each to the so-called ‘unknown gunmen,’ however, described the recent killing of Benue people as, “one murder too many and an onslaught against us as a people.”
The Plateau governor also noted that the separation of Benue and Plateau state was not to divide the people of both states, but rather to unite them. He stated that, “we cannot afford to break our tide, we cannot afford to fail our past leaders who toiled to ensure our unity.”
Responding, Governor Ortom said that Governor Lalong and himself had come a long way, explained that even before he (Governor Lalong) apologised, he had forgiven him but, however, expressed joy that the Plateau State governor had openly apologised.
In the words of the Benue governor, “Lalong and I have been close thinking together on how we can over come our common challenges. We need to get closer now more than ever before. He apologized and even before he did, I made a pronouncement that I have forgiven him. I am happy he apologized so we can quickly put this behind us.”