Ortom challenges Gov. Alia to publicly prove he inherited N359b debt

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

The immediate past Governor Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has challenged Governor Hyacinth Alia to publish the books and prove that he inherited N359 billion as debt.
Governor Alia had last week while briefing State House Correspondent after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, disclosed that his government inherited a whopping 359 billion naira debt from his predecessor.
The statement has caused ripples in the camp of the erstwhile Governor as Ortom’s former Special Adviser on Media and ICT Terver Akase fumed at the incumbent Governor’s act of contradicting facts.
In a statement he issued to the media on Tuesday in Makurdi, Akase said confidently that as someone who attended meetings of the Benue State Executive Council in eight years as an aide to the immediate past Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom and also accompanied him to the Banquet Hall of Benue Peoples House on May 28, 2023 where he handed over to his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, he is equipped with the knowledge of the actions and programmes of his principal’s government enough to clarify issues when some mischief is being leveled against him and his administration.
He accused the present government of Benue State of selling a narrative to unsuspecting people of the state that they inherited N359 billion as debt from the previous government led by Chief Ortom, noting that the narrative is not only false but also a deliberate stratagem to snooker the people.
The former media aide recalled that this same government told the people via a statement by Governor Alia’s Chief Press Secretary in June this year that Governor Ortom handed N187.56 billion to them as debt, which was the same amount the former Governor mentioned while presenting handover notes to his successor, maintaining that what the present government is saying about the state debts now contradicts their previous statement.
“Governor Ortom was explicit in his handover speech that though the debt situation of the State Government at the time of his exit from office might appear to be on the high side (N187.56 billion), his administration had taken proactive steps to negotiate and ensure significant debt reduction/reliefs leading to Debt Swap between Benue State and Federal Government as facilitated by the Nigerian Governors Forum. Total Debt Swap for State and Local Government Councils that stood at N71.6billion.”