Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, has issued an apology to the people of Nigeria in response to claims in the media that he will not back the presidential bid of a Fulani man while reacting to the killings that have occurred in his state at the hands of gunmen.
The statement was made by Ortom while he was fielding questions from journalists in Bauchi on Wednesday during a meeting of his G-5 Integrity Group with the Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed. Ortom said that those who are aggrieved by his statement should not feel offended by it.
Governor Ortom stated that what he said was not what he meant, and that he was after the peace of the country and not overheating the political climate in the nation. He pointed out that he was after the peace of the country.
My recent statement, in which I was quoted as saying that I will not support a Fulani man becoming Nigeria's president, may have caused some Nigerians to feel offended, and I want to apologise to those Nigerians. I never meant for it to be interpreted in that way. "
I want to say that, when I was captured, that was not what I meant; however, all the same, I know that it would amount to a logical fallacy if people have taken it the way I did; however, I want to say to those who are so offended by my remarks, I am very sorry, I didn't mean that," he said. "I want to say that, that was not what I meant when I was captured."