Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of launching repeated assaults on him to divert public consideration from questions surrounding the state’s funds and a not too long ago accepted ₦100 billion mortgage.
In an announcement issued on Saturday by his Media Adviser, Terver Akase, Ortom described the governor’s latest feedback—contained in a press assertion from Alia’s Chief Press Secretary—as “baseless and diversionary,” saying they have been aimed toward evading scrutiny over the federal government’s monetary dealings.
Akase mentioned somewhat than reply to respectable considerations raised by the Peoples Democratic Celebration (PDP) concerning the mortgage approval, the Alia administration has resorted to attacking Ortom personally. He accused the governor of exhibiting “rising intolerance for accountability” and “an obsession with dragging Ortom’s identify into each challenge, irrespective of how unrelated.”
“Every time Governor Alia is confronted with questions bordering on transparency in governance or the welfare of Benue folks, his reflex motion is to assault Chief Ortom as a substitute of offering information and figures,” Akase said.
The assertion questioned how the present administration has managed the large revenues which have accrued to the state since Might 2023, significantly amid studies of contract awards “with out due course of or budgetary provisions.” It cited the ₦68.3 billion street venture from Wurukum Roundabout to the Air Drive Base in Makurdi and one other ₦73 billion venture allegedly resulting in the governor’s hometown in Vandeikya Native Authorities Space as examples of questionable expenditures.
Akase accused the Alia authorities of sustaining “secrecy round state funds” and failing to clarify how public funds are being managed, regardless of elevated federal allocations following the removing of gas subsidy.
He additionally dismissed the Alia administration’s claims concerning Benue’s debt profile, describing them as contradictory. In line with Akase, the federal government’s assertion that it spends ₦7.4 billion month-to-month on debt servicing is inconsistent with its personal reported debt figures.
“The federal government has claimed to spend ₦214.6 billion on debt servicing in 29 months—₦52.5 billion increased than the ₦162.1 billion complete debt it declared,” he mentioned, questioning the figures’ credibility.
The assertion additional famous that as of Might 2023, the Ortom administration had secured pending federal approvals, together with a ₦41 billion bailout steadiness, a ₦20 billion CBN facility, and anticipated refunds from subsidy and SURE-P deductions. It challenged the present authorities to clarify whether or not these funds have been acquired and the way they have been utilised.
Akase accused Governor Alia of mismanaging native authorities funds, alleging that regardless of document federal allocations, “not one of many 23 councils has executed a single improvement venture,” in contrast to below Ortom, when native governments “actively competed in delivering initiatives.”
He maintained that Ortom left behind “verifiable data” of his administration’s funds and initiatives and referred to as on the Alia authorities to publish the official handover paperwork if it believes in any other case.
Concluding, Akase urged Governor Alia to concentrate on governance somewhat than “vilifying his predecessor,” saying:
“Benue folks elected him to serve, to not marketing campaign towards those that got here earlier than him. Chief Ortom has moved on with dignity as a statesman and expects Governor Alia to do higher, particularly with the sources now obtainable to the state.”
