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, Hyacinth Alia, describing him as a “hypocrite” and promising to henceforth expose the rot in his administration.

Ortom stated this during an interactive session with journalists at his palatial residence located at Judges’ Quarters along Gboko Road, Makurdi.

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

Ortom said: “As from today, I am going to be exposing this government (Alia administration) for its hypocrisy, outright looting of the state’s resources and evils being 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 remained silent, it would amount to admission. 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 the resources accrued to each administration.

The former governor, who reflected on his political differences with his former leader, 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 his re-election in 2019 that he had “retired Akume politically,” Ortom openly declared on Tuesday that he regretted making the comment.

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.

He said 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 prioritise national and state interests over party loyalties.

Reacting, Alia stated that the former governor left behind a heavy debt burden that was questionable.

Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, said his government was not out for any 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 legitimate authorities 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 has probed the activities of a previous administration. Ortom constituted one that probed his predecessor, Senator Gabriel Suswam.

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

Alia stated that his administration was still grappling with the challenges left behind by Ortom’s administration.

He said: “Today, hardly a day passes without garnishee orders being served on the state. We are faced with garnishees running into 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 the ‘years of the locusts’.”

The governor, who dismissed Ortom’s outburst, said the administration was run largely 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 continued to trade words over alleged poor performance and mismanagement of state resources.