Alia kicks as Ortom vows to expose rot, looting in Benue

The immediate past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Tuesday took a swipe at his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, describing him as a “hypocrite” and promising to henceforth expose what he called the rot in his administration.

Ortom stated this in an interactive session with journalists at his residence located at Judges Quarters along Gboko Road in Makurdi, the state capital.

The former governor was reacting to the report of a probe panel, which accused his administration of being unable to account for N139.8 billion during his eight-year tenure.

Ortom said, “As from today, I am going to be exposing this government (Alia administration) for its hypocrisy, outright looting of the state resources and evils committed against the people of the state and the ceding of our land to foreigners.

“So many lies have been said against me. After three years, I concluded that if I remain silent it will amount to admittance, so I need to defend myself and let the world know that what Alia is doing is pure persecution.”

Ortom, however, challenged his successor to a public debate for both of them to showcase their performances based on resources accrued to each of the administrations.

Ortom, who reflected on his political differences with his former leader, Senator George Akume, called for unity and collaboration in the interest of Benue State and Nigeria.

While making reference to a statement he made against Akume after he won his re-election in 2019 that he had “retired Akume politically,” Ortom openly declared on Tuesday that he regretted making that statement.

He said, “During my prayers afterwards, I came to realise that the remark was made out of arrogance because I later acknowledged the fact that only God determines people’s destinies.”

The former governor explained that he had since reconciled with Akume, whom he described as his leader, adding that Akume remains politically influential and that he had chosen to work with him through a strategic partnership aimed at advancing the “Benue project”, despite belonging to different political parties.

According to him, Nigeria’s current challenges require leaders to rise above partisan politics and prioritize national and state interests over party loyalties.

Meanwhile, Alia has reacted to his predecessor’s outburst, stating that the former governor left behind a heavy debt burden that was questionable.

The incumbent governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, said his government was not on a vendetta against his predecessor.

He said, “Handover notes are meant to be studied. When you study them and discover lapses and gaps, you are bound to invite a legitimate authority to help you unravel the grey areas.

“That is exactly what Governor Alia did. In any case, this is not the first time a commission of inquiry will probe the activities of a previous administration. Ortom constituted one that probed his predecessor, Sen. Gabriel Suswam.

“Ortom needs to tell Benue and Nigerians why he felt very comfortable probing his predecessor but he is not comfortable that he should be probed.”

Alia stated that his administration is still reeling in the rot left by Ortom’s administration.

He said, “Today, hardly a day passes without garnishee orders raining in the state. We are faced with garnishees in billions. These are as a result of shoddy handling of issues and blatant disregard for procedure, which was the hallmark of that infamous administration Benue people termed ‘years of the locusts’.”

The governor, dismissing Ortom’s outburst, said that throughout the eight years of Ortom’s administration, the government was run basically on propaganda.

“From pretentious sobbing in churches to perpetual deceptive statements. When a governor tells the worst tales that he was running and dodging bullets from assailants who pursued him for over 1km, what else do you want him to confirm as a fabricator of all time,” Alia said.

Both leaders have consistently traded words over alleged poor performance and mismanagement of state resources.