Iorfa Akpen
Chief Samuel Ortom is done with the back-and-forth press releases. He wants Governor Hyacinth Alia to meet him face to face.
On Tuesday in Makurdi, Ortom hosted journalists from the NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel at his home. The topic: Alia’s claims that Ortom’s government misused funds.
Ortom says his 8 years in office were open books. He claims every account was audited yearly, the reports went into national papers, and the Benue Assembly approved and gazetted the final audit. All records, he insists, are still there for anyone to check.
His challenge is simple. If Alia trusts the report he’s been quoting, then prove it publicly. “Let us meet for a debate where both sides can lay out their records for the people to judge,” Ortom said.
He specifically pushed back on the ₦139.8 billion allegation. Ortom called it “imaginary records” and said Alia’s team is just trying to tarnish his name without evidence. If there’s a real case, he added, take it to court. Courtrooms deal in proof, not press conferences.
Then Ortom flipped the question. He says Alia’s government has gotten about ₦1.3 trillion so far, five times what his own administration received. With that kind of money, he asked why salary, pension and gratuity arrears are still hanging. Where’s the development to match the cash?
His closing message to Alia: focus on what you promised Benue people. Clear the salary backlog. Pay pensions and gratuities. Get IDPs back to their homes.
So now the ball’s in Alia’s court. Debate or courtroom?
