Nigerian Concord Newspaper
If you live in a glass house, you must not throw stones. That is what public analysts are saying about members of the Benue State Asset Recovery Committee set up by Governor Alia as some stolen government cars, lands, properties and contract funds have been traced to the chairman of the committee and some of his members. They stole them while they were serving under Former governors Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom.
It’s no longer a news the the governor of Benue State, Father Alia had constituted a committee to recover the government’s assets and the committee is headed by a former permanent secretary, Mr. Hinga Biem.
It’s also no longer news that the said Asset Recovery Committee had illegally raided London Line Automobile Workshop in Makurdi, and forcefully took away thirty two cars that were brought there for repair.
The raid was carried out on the order of Governor Alia just to maliciously embarrass his predecessor, Chief Samuel Ortom PhD.
However, two of the cars were stolen by Hinga Biem while only thirty vehicles were handed over to the state government.
The current news now is how Hinga Biem, Dennis Akura, a former Caretaker Chairman of Vandeikya local government council who is also a member of the Recovery Committee as well as the Chairman of Alia’s Transition Committee, Mr. Mike Iordye stole government cars, lands, properties and contract funds during the reigns of Senator Gabriel Suswam and Chief Samuel Ortom between 2007 and 2023.
Hinga Biem who served as the permanent secretary at the Bureau for Internal Affairs under Gabriel Suswam stole about four state government vehicles that were allocated to him.
Another revelation is that of another prominent member of the Committee, Mr. Dennis Akura who stole a tractor, Hilux vehicle and a Toyota Corrola at the time he was sacked as the Caretaker chairman of Vandeikya local government.
Also receiving backslashes from members of the public is the chairman of Alia’s Transition Committee, Mr. Mike Iordye who has been accused of fraudulently allocating and buying lots of state government bouses while he was serving as Head of Benue Civil Service.
Also, Iordye who was awarded an electrification project in 2016 to the tune of N190,334,964.05 received a mobilisation fee of N93,177,563.64 but failed to execute the project.
The contract with No. BNTB- 31/2016 was for the extension of electricity to Tse Ortom – Tse Upev- Tomatar- Ahentse-Tse Akaahena, his home town but Iordye didn’t do anything on the contract despite receiving a huge percentage of the total contract sum.
In 2017, Iordye was also awarded the 28 Kilometers laterite road Construction Contract No. BNTB- 39/2027 from Tse Ortom-Tse Upev-Tse Akaahena- Nasarawa border feeder valued at N414 ,692,205.18. He was mobilised to site with the sum of N124,407,661.55. He never did anything until it was revoked and awarded to a Lebanese company, Triacta.