Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has challenged his successor, Hyacinth Alia, to provide evidence for his claims regarding the state’s finances, including incomes, the wage bill, and debts.
In response to Alia’s recent interview, Ortom accused the governor of spreading false information and engaging in shocking fabrications. Ortom’s media aide, Terver Akase, issued a statement expressing disbelief at Alia’s allegations, questioning the lack of concrete figures to support his claims.
Alia had claimed that the previous administration left arrears of salaries amounting to hundreds of billions of naira, along with more ghost schools than functional ones. Ortom’s team refuted these claims, highlighting the continuity of salary payments during his tenure and the proactive steps taken to reduce the state’s debt profile.
The statement also called on Alia to provide transparency by disclosing the arrears of salaries inherited, the list of ghost schools identified, the savings from eliminating ghost workers, the state’s debt profile, and the monthly allocations received since June 2023. Additionally, they challenged the Debt Management Office’s inclusion of Benue in the list of states with new debts between June and December 2023.
While refraining from commenting on Alia’s characterization of Benue as the least developed state, Ortom’s team emphasized the administration’s achievements in infrastructure development, including road construction, school projects, health facilities, rural electrification, water projects, and the establishment of a modern land digitization center.
In conclusion, the statement asserted that Governor Ortom handed over a state, not a village, to his successor, emphasizing the administration’s legacy of progress and development in Benue State.
