<<< By Tahav Agerzua >>>
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, today disclosed that his administration has declared a two-week period of prayer and fasting to seek God’s intervention in the challenges confronting the state.
He made the disclosure at the funeral the late Grace Afa Akpe, wife of the second class traditional ruler of Gwer local government area, Chief Dominic Akpe.
The funeral took place at Aliade.
The Governor said he took the decision in consultation with leaders of the Christian community in the state and that the program would commence on Monday next week.
According to him, the state needed intervention to overcome challenges of invasion of the state by herders, lack of adequate funds to pay salaries as well as divine wisdom for statecraft.
He expressed the conviction that just as God intervened to make him Governor He would also help the state to overcome current the challenges.
The Governor appealed to the people of the state to make peace with God like the deceased did so that they could enjoy His blessings in this life and eternity.
He made reference to Job 36: 11 and 12 maintaining that the verses were God’s recipe for success or failure in life.
Governor Ortom advised the people to redouble efforts in the agriculture sector and to form cooperative societies to enable them to benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s agriculture loan scheme.
Born in 1968 the late Mrs Akpe was a staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, who was due for retirement in June 2016.
She died on 1st May, this year and is survived by her husband, four children and a grand son.
Prayers for the state should be matched with more purposeful action in all sectors of the state. There is a great need to add technical depth in the day-to-day decision making for the state. Qualified, technically-savvy individuals should be encouraged and sponsored to take up leadership at the local government level to ensure that the good programmes of the current administration will be fully implemented at the grassroots.