A former Minister of State for Education, Prof. Jerry Agada, on Tuesday frowned on the manner the Catholic diocese in Gboko allegedly disrespected the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, during the recent birthday celebration of Senator George Akume.

Agada, who expressed his dismay at a press conference in Makurdi, said the refusal of the Church to allow the governor to speak at the event was an insult to the sensibility of the people.

The church had allegedly prevented the governor from making a remark at the 64th birthday ceremony of the former governor held in his country home, Wannune in the Tarka Local Government Area.

Agada reminded the church that it was not operating in isolation and that it was under the jurisdiction of the state.

He argued that if the church had made a law outlawing or banning politicians from speaking, there would not have been any query with its stoppage of Ortom, adding that the governor, a humble person, would have respected the ban.

‘’But an instance where you allow Sen. Akume who is a subject of the governor to speak and deny the governor the opportunity to do same, then it is not fair. I think it was done based on primordial reasoning and I condemn it,” Agada said.

The elder statesman, who is also the chairman of the Benue State Civil Service Commission, lamented the high wage bill of the state despite the retired civil servants and commended the governor for reducing the wage bill from N7.8bn to N4.5bn.

On the lingering fuel scarcity, he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the hoarders to book to deter others who sabotage the nation for their selfish gains.