We have read in the media the outbursts and the “public debate” challenge issued by former Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom.
While it is evident that the former Governor seeks to distract the public with his familiar theatrical antics, it is necessary to set the record straight: Governor Hyacinth Alia is committed to governance, not media trials or personal vendettas.
On the Probe and Selective Amnesia, we urge Chief Ortom to, for once, embrace and submit himself to the truth.
Handover notes are documents intended for scrutiny and study, not for preservation in the archives of secrecy. Upon a careful review of Chief Ortom’s handover notes, the current administration discovered glaring lapses and monumental financial discrepancies that necessitated the involvement of legitimate authorities to investigate the grey areas.
It is rather ironic that Chief Ortom, who constituted a Commission of Inquiry to probe the administration of his predecessor, Senator Gabriel Suswam, now finds a similar exercise concerning his own administration “unacceptable.”
If he was comfortable probing the past, why is he uncomfortable with his own record being examined?
Furthermore, despite his desperate attempts to use the judiciary to stall these processes, the facts remain clear: he and his appointees, including his former media aides, were repeatedly invited and afforded a fair hearing before the Commission.
The Years of the Locusts
No leader with a conscience could ignore the wreckage left behind by the previous administration headed by Chief Samuel Ortom.
Governor Alia inherited a state burdened by: Seven months of unpaid salaries for state workers; eleven months of salary arrears owed to local government workers and teachers; more than 76 months of unpaid pensions and gratuities; and a heavy debt burden shrouded in questionable records.
For eight years, Benue was governed by propaganda—from pretentious displays of emotion in sacred places to fabricated tales of escaping “bullets for over one kilometre.” Such episodes reflect a legacy of fabrication rather than administration.
Economic Reality vs. False Figures
Ortom’s claim regarding ₦1.3 trillion is not only mischievous but also betrays a lack of understanding of basic economic and comparative analysis.
One must ask the former Governor: What was the price of fuel and cement during your tenure compared to today? What was the exchange rate of the naira then versus now? What was the cost of constructing a kilometre of roads in 2015 compared to 2024?
To compare nominal figures without accounting for prevailing global and national economic realities is intellectually dishonest.
Today, the Alia administration is paying off billions of naira in garnishee orders—the direct consequence of the shoddy handling of government affairs and blatant disregard for due process that characterised the Ortom years, a period many Benue people rightly describe as the “years of the locusts.”
Ortom must understand that governance is not a debate; it is delivery. Therefore, Governor Alia has no interest in engaging in debates with those who failed the state. His achievements already speak for themselves.
Within a short period, this administration has delivered significant legacy projects, including the revitalisation of the Benue Fruit Juice Company; the establishment of a world-class Fashion Hub; the establishment and commencement of production at the Food Basket Brewery; the completion of major interchanges in Gboko and Makurdi; extensive erosion control projects within the Makurdi metropolis; and numerous other infrastructural developments across the state.
While the former Governor remains trapped in the rhetoric of the past, Governor Hyacinth Alia remains focused on clearing the mess he inherited and building a Benue that works for everyone.
. Sir Kula, mnipr, is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State.
