Former Governor of Benue State, Chief Samuel Ortom, has called on his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, to stop making excuses and immediately begin implementing the security roadmap recommended by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit to the state.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Terver Akase, Ortom expressed concern over what he described as Alia’s obsession with blaming the past administration instead of taking decisive action to tackle the worsening security crisis in Benue. The former governor reacted to a recent press release issued by Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, which he said was laced with unprovoked attacks against him.
Akase noted that despite being out of office for over a year, Governor Alia and his team have continued to drag Ortom’s name into unrelated discussions while the state battles persistent killings by armed herders.
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Responding to Alia’s claim that over four million people were displaced under Ortom’s watch, Akase debunked the figure, stating that at no point did the previous administration report such a number. He explained that the Ortom-led government collaborated with local and international partners to gather verifiable data, which showed about 1.5 million displaced persons—a figure Alia himself accepted and has continued to use.
The statement accused the current administration of concealing casualty figures and downplaying the scale of attacks by describing them as communal clashes or reprisals. “People are being killed like animals,” it lamented, urging Governor Alia to stop shifting blame and instead face the realities on the ground.
The Ortom camp expressed disappointment that, five days after President Tinubu’s visit and his personal recommendations to Alia on improving security, there has been no sign of action. It called on the governor to utilize the significantly increased federal allocations post-subsidy removal to secure the state and provide development.
Adopt Tinubu’s security roadmap, Ortom urges Alia
Highlighting the growing frustration among displaced persons, the statement recalled a recent protest by IDPs at the Makurdi International Market who abandoned their camp due to neglect. It condemned the absence of proactive leadership, especially the SEMA boss being spotted at a lavish wedding in the UK while IDPs suffered back home.
Akase also called on Alia to allow the 23 local governments to manage their funds and security efforts, citing a 400% increase in federal allocations and a Supreme Court judgment granting full financial autonomy to councils—both of which the governor has allegedly ignored.
“We urge Governor Alia to obey the court and respect the will of the people. If the task of governing the state is too overwhelming, he should admit it and seek help from stakeholders instead of blaming imaginary enemies,” the statement concluded.
Chief Ortom, Akase warned, will no longer tolerate falsehoods from the current administration and vowed to respond to any further attempts to rewrite the record.
