From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia has dismissed nursing any vendetta against his predecessor, Chief Samuel Ortom, insisting that the essence of the probe report is to unravel gray areas of his administration.
Both Alia and Ortom have been at daggersdrawn, following the report of the Income and Expenditure Commission that indicted the latter of not accounting for N139 billion under his watch as Governor of the State.
Responding to claims by Ortom at a press conference on Tuesday in Makurdi of vendetta and blackmail by Alia, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula said it is not the first time a probe commission will be set up to study the finances of a past administration, stating that Ortom did same against his predecessor then Gabriel Suswam.
Governor Alia reiterated that hand over notes are meant to be studied and where lapses and gaps are discovered, one is bound to invite a legitimate authority to help you unravel the gray areas insisting, ‘this is exactly what I have done’.
He asked Ortom to tell Benue and Nigerians why he felt very comfortable probing his predecessor but he is uncomfortable that he should be probed, averring that in Ortom’s desperate bid to escape probe, he ran to the judiciary.
The Governor intimated that the commission which delivered a verdict in this discourse, is different from the one Ortom took to court, divulging that evidence exist to show that he was severally invited to appear before the commission and clear his name but he sent his lawyers who appeared for him just as his appointees including his former Chief Press Secretary and later Media Adviser, Terver Akase also appeared and was given fair hearing.
“No person with conscience would have ignored the mess that was met on the ground.
“Seven months of unpaid salaries for state government workers and 11 for Local Government workers and teachers. Over 76 months of unpaid salaries and gratuity etc. Heavy debt burden and questionable records.
“The government was run basically on propaganda, from pretentious sobbing in churches to perpetual deceptive statements.
“When a governor tells the worse 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.
“Talking about N1.3trillion, he has no idea of economic competitive analysis. How much was a litre of fuel when he was Governor and how much is a litre of fuel now?
“ How much was a bag of cement and how.much is it now? How.much was a kilometre of road and how much is it now? How much was the dollar exchanging for naira and how much it is it now?
“Today, a day hardly 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 to procedure which was the Hallmark of that infamous administration Benue people termed, “years of the locusts”, Alia lamented.
