Alia, Ortom Clash Over ₦100bn Loan Approved By Benue Assembly

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, and his predecessor, Samuel Ortom, on Sunday traded words over the ₦100 billion loan recently approved by the State House of Assembly.

During an emergency plenary held last Friday, the House granted approval for Governor Alia’s request to secure a ₦100 billion loan aimed at financing key infrastructural projects across Benue State.

According to Governor Alia, the facility would be channelled toward projects such as the renovation and furnishing of all 23 general hospitals in the state, the construction and upgrade of science schools, and the completion of ongoing works on roads, bridges, drainages, and electricity installations.

Other aspects of the loan include the establishment of skills acquisition centres, the construction and equipping of smart schools across all federal constituencies, and the building of the Benue State University of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Ihugh, among other initiatives.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, through its Publicity Secretary, Tim Nyor, criticised the House for approving the request, alleging that the Alia administration had already received significant allocations from the federal purse over the past two years.

Responding through his media aide, Kula Tersoo, Governor Alia fired back at the PDP, accusing Ortom’s government of “democratising poverty” by failing to pay salaries and pensions during its tenure.

He described Ortom’s eight years in power as a “colossal failure” that plunged Benue into deep debt and underdevelopment.

“For the record, the PDP-led administration, particularly under Samuel Ortom, admitted to leaving behind a massive direct debt of ₦187.7 billion — a burden that has severely hampered the state’s financial capacity and development efforts,” Alia’s statement read.

He further alleged that his administration later discovered that the debt figure had been understated, uncovering an additional ₦170 billion owed through local government channels. “It is shocking that Ortom’s government incurred such an enormous debt and still failed to pay workers and retirees their entitlements,” the statement added.

“Moreover, despite receiving multiple financial interventions from the Federal Government — including bailout funds, LNG revenues, and two tranches of the Paris Club refund — as well as unaccounted direct loans, the Ortom administration left behind ₦187.7 billion in debts, twelve months’ unpaid salaries for state workers, ten months’ arrears for local government staff, thirty-six months of unpaid pensions, and widespread infrastructural decay, bringing the total debt to ₦359 billion,” the statement concluded.

In a swift rebuttal, former Governor Ortom, through his media aide, Terver Akase, accused Alia of dodging the real issues raised by the opposition and refusing to address legitimate public concerns.

Ortom argued that despite a more than 500 per cent increase in federal allocations to the state, the Alia administration had failed to make visible progress, choosing instead to constantly compare itself to its predecessor.

He explained that by the end of his tenure, several pending federal disbursements were awaiting release, including the balance of the ₦41 billion bailout fund and a ₦20 billion Central Bank of Nigeria facility.

Ortom also disclosed that the state was expecting additional refunds running into billions of naira from subsidy removals and SURE-P funds.

He alleged that Governor Alia had yet to clarify whether his administration had received the SURE-P funds or how they were being utilised.

The former governor also faulted Alia for not providing details on the ₦68.3 billion contract awarded for the rehabilitation of a 13-kilometre road from Wurukum Roundabout to the Air Force Base in Makurdi.

“To date, the Alia administration has not responded to the concerns raised. It has also failed to address questions surrounding the ₦73 billion reportedly approved for a road project leading to the governor’s hometown in Mbadede, Vandeikya Local Government Area,” Ortom stated.

“Whenever Governor Alia is confronted with issues of accountability or public welfare, he resorts to attacking Chief Ortom rather than providing concrete information. This growing pattern reflects a government that shuns transparency and avoids responsibility for explaining how public funds are being managed,” he added.

Ortom further challenged Alia to make public how the substantial revenues received since May 29, 2023, had been spent.

“Why the secrecy surrounding the state’s finances, and why the attempts to silence those who raise questions? Instead of addressing these legitimate issues, Governor Alia prefers diversionary tactics, resorting to insults, half-truths, and baseless claims about Chief Ortom — whose administration was defined by transparency, accountability, and a strong commitment to defending the people of Benue, even in the face of grave security challenges,” the statement concluded.

Source: Informationng