"You ran Benue around" Gov Alia fires back after Ortom accused him of seizing 23 cars

A representative of Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has hit back in reaction to accusations made by the immediate past governor Samuel Ortom. 

On Wednesday, September 9, Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula accused Ortom of running the state “aground” during his eight-year reign.

Ortom had on Tuesday, September 8, accused Alia of seizing 23 cars given to him by the state Executive Council at the end of his tenure in 2023. Ortom said he then took the current state government to court and won over the seized cars.

Responding, Kula explained that the said cars were hidden in a mechanic workshop, adding that they were discovered following intelligence from security agencies.

Appearing on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Kula said: “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. 
“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. 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. I listened to him when he said the government was concentrating in Makurdi, the state capital, but this is tantamount to the fact. 
“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.”