Former Benue State Governor Challenges Successor’s Claims on State Finances

Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has challenged his successor, Hyacinth Alia, to provide evidence for his recent claims regarding the state’s finances, including incomes, the wage bill, and debts.

In a statement issued by Terver Akase, Ortom’s media aide, Ortom accused Alia of making false and misleading statements in a recent interview.

Ortom disputed Alia’s claim that the previous administration left arrears of salaries running into hundreds of billions of naira, stating that even if the administration had not paid wages for a whole year, the figure would not have reached such a high amount.

Ortom also questioned Alia’s assertion that the current government inherited more ghost schools than functional ones, demanding evidence for these claims.

He further criticized Alia for not substantiating any of his claims with figures.

The statement highlighted the efforts of the Ortom administration in paying salaries consistently between January 2018 and the end of 2022, despite facing two recessions during that period.

It also mentioned the proactive steps taken by the Ortom administration to negotiate significant debt reduction, including a debt swap between Benue State and the Federal Government.

Ortom’s statement concluded by challenging Governor Alia to provide evidence for the figures he has claimed, including the total of arrears of salaries inherited, a list of ghost schools discovered, details on the alleged savings from ghost workers, the debt profile of the state since May 28, 2023, and monthly allocations from the federation account since June 2023.

The statement also called for a retraction from the Debt Management Office regarding their inclusion of Benue on the list of states which have incurred debts between June and December 2023.

While refraining from commenting on Alia’s characterization of Benue as the least developed state in the country, the statement highlighted the Ortom administration’s achievements in infrastructure development, education, healthcare, rural electrification, water projects, and land digitization.