Ortom rejects ₦139bn probe report, accuses Alia of executive rascality

Henry Iyorkase, Makurdi

Former Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom, has dismissed the report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Hyacinth Alia to investigate the income and expenditure of his administration, describing the exercise as a politically motivated witch-hunt aimed at tarnishing his image.

In a statement made available to journalists in Makurdi on Saturday, Ortom said the allegations of financial impropriety against his eight-year administration were unfounded and part of a calculated attempt by the present administration to indict him at all costs.

The former governor noted that shortly after Governor Alia assumed office in 2023, his administration constituted probe panels to investigate the previous government. However, he said the legality of those panels was challenged in court, resulting in several legal notices being served on the state government.

According to him, rather than allowing the courts to determine the issues raised, the Alia administration dissolved the initial panels and constituted fresh ones in a bid to continue with the investigations.

Ortom further stated that there is a subsisting matter before the Court of Appeal on the same issues, with hearing scheduled for June 29, 2026.

He also pointed out that the Benue State Government had approached the Supreme Court to challenge an Appeal Court decision that nullified the constitution of the probe panels, with the matter still pending before the apex court.

“It is astonishing that a government which voluntarily submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the courts would, in the same breath, proceed as though those judicial processes do not exist. This conduct betrays a disturbing lack of confidence in the judiciary and amounts to executive rascality of the highest order,” Ortom said.

He accused Governor Alia’s administration of abandoning the path of law in favour of what he described as a media spectacle intended to achieve through propaganda what it had failed to accomplish through due process.

The former governor said the timing of the report was suspicious, alleging that the present administration was using the probe to divert attention from its own shortcomings.

“After three years in office, Governor Alia’s administration has little to showcase in terms of tangible achievements. Faced with mounting public concerns over insecurity, the plight of internally displaced persons, declining public confidence, industrial disputes in the education sector, and questions surrounding the management of enormous financial resources that have accrued to the state, the government has resorted to making the Ortom administration the centrepiece of its governance agenda,” he stated.

Ortom further claimed that whenever questions are raised about the over ₦1.3 trillion that has accrued to the state under the current administration, the government blames his administration.

“Whenever insecurity worsens and communities continue to suffer attacks, the Alia government blames Ortom. Whenever public dissatisfaction grows, it blames Ortom. No week appears to pass without Governor Alia or his appointees launching one media attack or another against the immediate past governor,” he said.

The former governor insisted that accountability could not be achieved through predetermined conclusions and maintained that the financial activities of his administration were conducted within the framework of the law and established governmental procedures.

He explained that during his tenure, government accounts were subjected to statutory audits annually, budgets were regularly presented and passed, financial records were properly maintained, and government transactions were conducted through established public service structures.

Chief Ortom said he had nothing to hide and remained proud of his record in office, expressing confidence that no amount of political persecution, propaganda or manufactured reports could alter the facts of his administration’s stewardship.

He therefore urged the people of Benue State to view the report as “a desperate attempt to divert attention from the failures of the current administration and a politically motivated campaign targeted at a predecessor whose only offence is having served the state before Governor Alia.”

The former governor further challenged the Alia administration to account for the over ₦1.3 trillion that has allegedly accrued to the state in the last three years.

“Accountability begins with explaining your own record, not attacking others,” Ortom declared.