‘You ran Benue around’ – Gov Alia fires back at Ortom over seized cars

The Governor Hyacinth Alia-led Benue State Government on Wednesday accused immediate past governor Samuel Ortom of running the state “around” during his eight-year reign.

Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, made the remark in response to Ortom’s claim that the current state government had seized cars given to him by the state Executive Council at the end of his tenure in 2023.

Ortom, while making the claims yesterday, recalled how he took the current state government to court and won over the seized cars.

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

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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 around 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 that led them to invade the workshop, where they discovered these cars.”

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