Benue State Governor, Governor Samuel Ortom, and the leadership of the Middle Belt Forum have made a strong case for the postponement of the 2023 census until Internally Displaced Persons (IPDs) in the North Central geopolitical zone are resettled.
Ortom made this call when he hosted the leadership of the Middle Belt Forum who were in the state to commiserate with him over the killing of over 134 persons in one week.
The attacks occurred in the Mgbam community in the Guma Local Government Area. The attacks were allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen in Apa, Otukpo, and Guma areas of the state.
The leadership of the Middle Belt Forum commiserated with the governor and used the occasion to appeal to the National Population Commission to shift the census start date from May 3, 2023, an appeal that resonated with the governor.