A fundamental reality in the politics and governance of Benue State is that the administration of Ortom perpetrated a lot of socio-economic and political injustices to the good people of Benue State,which were immediately inherited by the Alia administration. Sadly,the Ortom administration and her inglorious participants have recently developed despicable acts of engaging in negative mobilization and conspiracies of unwholesome attacks on the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia,as if Governor Hyacinth Alia does not know how to deal with the problems perpetrated and left behind Ortom!!!! Hehehehe!!
Indeed, the historic inauguration of two judicial commissions of inquiry by His Excellency,Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Alia to probe the activities of Samuel Ortom
is not only indicative of the Governor’s wisdom,proactiveness and commitment to transparency and accountability,but a significant attestation of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s unalloyed resolve to finding permanent solutions to the remote and immediate economic crises and quagmires perpetrated by the Ortom administration in Benue State,between 2015-2023.
I read somewhere on the social media where one Mr. Terver Akase,a media aide to Samuel Ortom made a pronouncement that the former Governor welcomes the idea of setting up judicial commissions by Governor Hyacinth Alia to probe his administration from 2015-2023. In as much as I consider Mr.Terver Akase’s statement to be sentimentally laced with hidden bitterness,shock and rattling emotions,I wish to emphasize that Samuel Ortom does not have a choice but to come and account for the”stewardship”which he callously and selfishly denied the Benue people by inflicting unbearable and avoidable pains/suffering on their existence as a people. It is indeed,a moment for atonement for Samuel Ortom!!
Some of the major issues I want the administration of Ortom to clarify before the judicial commissions are:- the mobilization he gave to contractors for the Igumale Cement which nothing was done,the money the administration claimed was paid for the Cargo Airport which nothing was done,the 7 billion Naira that the administration claimed in the media that it was recovered from former Governor Suswam Loot,the controversial purchase of MRI machine at the Benue State Teaching Hospital which never functioned,the payment of Oracle Business
workers and from which source,the controversy over payment or non payment of revenue to Federal Ministry of Water Resources for using the River Benue as his main source of water for his water factory at the River Bank,the controversial School Feeding saga under the administration,the controversial renovation of the government house in just a few months to the vacation of office, the notorious and controversial deductions of federal allocations to local governments for obnoxious reasons,the vague and virtually non accountability and declaration of internally generated revenue by the administration,the fictitious awards and poor handling of road and other multiple but failed contracts,etc. Nothing can be more expository than compelling the Ortom administration to confess why the administration got into over 58 MOUs which none of them saw the light of the day. The most agonizing one which was the ones entered into and signed in and with China.
I stand to confidently congratulate and commend Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State for taking his time and finally arriving at this historic decision to trace the immediate and remote causes of the challenges of the Benue people deriving from the iniquities of the Ortom administration.
May God Almighty continually increase the stamina,courage,determination,wisdom and opportunities for Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State.
Dr. Mkor Aondona
Special Adviser on Research,Documentation and Strategy to the Governor of Benue State
