Asserting his name would not stop the killings, former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has advised his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, to quit using him as a scapegoat for the state’s ongoing insecurity and humanitarian catastrophe.
According to a statement released on his behalf on Sunday by Terver Akase, his former chief press secretary, Ortom expressed disappointment that the Alia-led administration is still avoiding its obligations by placing the blame on previous leaders.
In response to recent remarks made by Governor Alia claiming Benue recorded more than four million internally displaced people during Ortom’s administration, the former governor declared that the assertion was untrue and misleading.
Under Ortom’s leadership, Benue State had the greatest number of internally displaced people in its history, with more than four million people uprooted from their ancestral homes, according to a statement signed by Governor Alia and his chief press secretary, Tersoo Kula. This statistic highlights the ineffectiveness of reactive rhetoric in the absence of strategic backing for security architecture.
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Akase responded by contesting the statistics and raising doubts about the governor’s priorities.
The four million IDPs were never mentioned by Chief Ortom. Reputable humanitarian organizations collaborated with the administration to produce precise, reliable data. Governor Alia inherited, approved, and reported to partners the 1.5 million figure that was formally recorded, he said.
Additionally, Akase charged that the Alia government constantly perverted every disagreement into an assault on Ortom.
Since taking office, Governor Alia and his staff have made it their goal to bring Ortom’s name up in any conversation, regardless of how pertinent it is. According to Akase, this fixation won’t resolve the state’s crisis.
He took issue with the way the government handled the recent IDP protest at the Makurdi International Market camp, where the displaced described feeling abandoned.
As IDPs demonstrated against malnutrition and disregard, the Executive Secretary of SEMA was spotted in the UK during an extravagant wedding. This appalling insensitivity was something we anticipated to be addressed in a public release. He pointed out, “What we got instead was another attack on Ortom.”
“The time for excuses has passed,” Akase said, advising the governor to follow the security blueprint that President Bola Tinubu suggested during his recent visit to the state.
“To address insecurity in Benue, Mr. President provided actionable steps.” Governor Alia continues to make excuses instead of taking action, he claimed. One day, he blames foreign mercenaries, the next Abuja politicians, and now even religious leaders.
