Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, has hit back at former governor Samuel Ortom over allegations concerning 23 vehicles allegedly seized from him by the current administration.
Ortom had on Tuesday, September 8, accused the Alia administration of taking possession of 23 vehicles said to have been allocated to him by the Benue State Executive Council at the end of his tenure in 2023.
The former governor said he subsequently approached the court over the matter and secured a favourable judgment.
Reacting to the allegation on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, September 9, Kula claimed that the vehicles had been hidden in a mechanic workshop and were discovered following intelligence provided by security agencies.
“These cars were hidden in a mechanic workshop somewhere and they claimed they don’t belong to Ortom himself. The owner of that workshop took the Benue State Government to court because of this,” Kula said.
He questioned how the vehicles could have been legitimately allocated by the State Executive Council, which Ortom chaired as governor.
“He said the cars were given to him legitimately by the Benue State Executive Council that he was the chairman of, that he always presided over, and appointed members as his commissioners, so it’s difficult to understand,” he added.
Kula used the controversy to criticise Ortom’s eight-year administration, alleging that the former governor left the state in a difficult position.
“But then, it has opened a vista to understand what Ortom entrenched in Benue State as the governor for eight years. This state was practically run aground by Ortom,” he said.
Kula further maintained that the discovery of the vehicles followed information received by security agencies, which prompted authorities to search the workshop.
“The owner of the mechanic workshop was the person who first of all took the government to court. In the first instance, these cars were hidden in a workshop, but it was intelligence from security agencies that some cars were hidden somewhere, and they had to invade the workshop and discovered these cars,” he said.
The exchange comes amid continued political disagreements between the current administration in Benue State and its predecessor over issues surrounding the former governor’s tenure and the handling of state assets.
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