Benue State Government Probe Report Is a Political Witch-Hunt – Ortom

Samuel Ortom

Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has rejected the report of the Benue State Income and Expenditure Commission of Inquiry. He recently had his say via a press statement issued by his media aide, Zege Terhide, and Nigerians have been reacting.

Describing the exercise as a politically motivated witch-hunt orchestrated by the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia, Ortom said the commission’s report is fundamentally flawed, legally challenged and politically motivated.

The governor concluded by maintaining that the legitimacy of the probe remains the subject of ongoing litigation.

It read, “What the people of Benue witnessed was not an exercise in accountability. It was the culmination of a carefully scripted political witch-hunt designed from the outset to indict the government of Chief Samuel Ortom at all costs.

It is therefore astonishing that a government which voluntarily submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the courts would, in the same breath, proceed as though those judicial processes do not exist.

Whenever questions are asked about the over N1.3 trillion that has accrued to Benue state under the present administration, Governor Alia and his appointees quickly blame Ortom.

Whenever the administration struggles to explain its performance after three years in office, it blames Ortom. Whenever insecurity worsens and communities continue to suffer attacks, the Alia government blames Ortom. Whenever public dissatisfaction grows, it blames Ortom.

The unfortunate reality is that Governor Alia has become more interested in prosecuting media battles against his predecessor than in addressing the serious challenges confronting Benue state.”

WOW.