Former Governor Accuses Success of Taking His 23 Vehicles

• Former Benue governor Samuel Ortom alleged that his successor, Hyacinth Alia, seized 23 vehicles allocated to him by the state government
• Ortom said he took the matter to court and won a judgment directing the state government to return the vehicles and pay N5 million in damages
• The former governor also accused the Alia administration of directing traditional rulers not to receive him during a recent visit to his kinsmen

Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has accused his successor, Hyacinth Alia, of ordering the seizure of 23 vehicles that the state government had allocated to him before he left office in 2023.

Ortom made the allegation on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television's Morning Show, saying he took legal action over the matter and obtained a court judgment directing the Benue State government to return the vehicles and pay him N5 million in damages.

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The former governor said the vehicles were legitimately assigned to him and described the seizure as part of a broader pattern of what he called a "witch-hunt" by the Alia administration against political opponents.

Ortom lists other grievances against Alia

Beyond the vehicle dispute, Ortom raised several other concerns about the administration's conduct. He alleged that Governor Alia had shut out political stakeholders from the affairs of the state, saying no stakeholders' meeting involving political parties had taken place since Alia assumed office.

Ortom also claimed that Alia recently instructed traditional rulers in the state to refuse to receive him when he paid a visit to his kinsmen to inform them about his wife's senatorial ambition. He did not provide further details about where the visit took place or which traditional rulers were involved.

He also alleged that local government chairmen across Benue State had yet to gain access to their funds, even after the Supreme Court issued a judgment affirming financial autonomy for local governments across Nigeria.

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Alia, a member of the All Progressives Congress, defeated Titus Uba, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate who was backed by Ortom, to become governor of Benue State on May 29, 2023. The two camps have been at odds since Alia's election victory.

Source: Legit.ng