Nigerian Concord Newspaper
PRESS STATEMENT
We, former appointees of the immediate past Benue State Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom have watched with growing concern the desperate attempt by Governor Hyacinth Alia and members of his administration to divert public attention from the realities of governance through a sustained campaign of falsehoods against their predecessor, His Excellency Chief Samuel Ortom.
As Governor Alia marked three years in office on May 29, 2026, Benue people expected a comprehensive account of his stewardship, a presentation of measurable achievements, and answers to the numerous questions surrounding the management of public resources under his administration.
Instead, the Governor and his appointees have once again chosen the familiar path of propaganda, excuses and attacks on Chief Ortom.
For several weeks now, Governor Alia and his aides have repeatedly claimed that Chief Ortom left behind four years of unpaid salaries, seven months of pensions and gratuities, and accomplished virtually nothing throughout his eight years in office.
These claims are false, reckless and deliberately misleading. The facts are readily available.
Chief Samuel Ortom governed Benue State during one of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria and the state. His administration coincided with two devastating economic recessions, a drastic collapse in crude oil prices, a sharp decline in federal allocations, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a sustained wave of armed Fulani herdsmen attacks.
At one point, federal allocations to Benue dropped to levels that made it practically impossible for the government to meet all its obligations. Benue also had one of the highest wage bills in Nigeria, coming only behind Lagos and Rivers States.
Yet, despite these challenges, the Ortom administration paid 91 out of 96 months of salaries during its eight years in office. It also inherited a huge burden of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities amounting to ₦72 billion with over ₦90 billion of contactual obligations, but proceeded to substantially reduce the liability through consistent payments by paying ₦42 billion out of the ₦72 billion pension and gratuities.
His administration domesticated the Contributory Pension Scheme and made pension contributions of over N8 billion, laying the foundation for a long-term solution to pension challenges in the state.
The records are there. No amount of propaganda can erase them.
Beyond salaries and pensions, Chief Ortom’s administration recorded remarkable achievements in infrastructure, education, healthcare, institutional reforms and rural development.
Over 1,000 primary school projects were executed across the 23 local government areas of the state. Thousands of desks and chairs were provided to improve learning conditions for pupils. Secondary Schools were also renovated and upgraded.
The Benue State University Teaching Hospital witnessed unprecedented upgrades, including the procurement and installation of modern medical equipment such as MRI and dialysis machines, rehabilitation of wards and theatre complexes, and the establishment of specialized healthcare facilities.
The administration also facilitated the graduation of medical doctors from Benue State University after years of stagnation. The Ortom administration similarly secured accreditation for the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery to resume the graduation of qualified nurses and midwives.
In Infrastructure, numerous road projects were executed across the three senatorial districts of Benue State under Governor Ortom. Many of those roads are in Makurdi, the state capital, Gboko, Otukpo and other parts of the state.
The administration upgraded land administration through the establishment of the Benue Geographic Information Service (BENGIS) and strengthened governance institutions across the state. The gigantic edifice, fully equipped, was publicly inaugurated and put to use before the end of the administration.
Governor Ortom equally provided befitting palaces for the Tor Tiv in Gboko and the Och’Idoma in Otukpo, thereby strengthening traditional institutions and promoting cultural heritage.
Most importantly, Chief Ortom courageously stood with the people of Benue during the dark moments of insecurity.
The enactment and enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017 remains one of the boldest and most impactful policy decisions in the history of Benue State.
At great personal and political cost, Governor Ortom chose the protection of Benue communities over political convenience.
Today, however, Benue people are confronted with a different reality. Three years after Governor Alia assumed office, insecurity has worsened across large parts of the state. Communities continue to be attacked. People continue to be killed. Farmers continue to be displaced from their ancestral lands. The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, yet, Governor Alia has repeatedly played down the casualty figures and told the whole world that what is happening in Benue State are “mere skirmishes”.
Governor Alia promised Benue people that internally displaced persons would return to their ancestral homes within his first one hundred days in office. Three years later, not only have they not returned, more people have been displaced and additional camps are being established across the state.
What was meant to be a temporary humanitarian challenge is gradually becoming a permanent reality. Instead of rebuilding communities and restoring displaced persons to their homes, the present administration appears to be normalizing displacement.
Even more disturbing is the complete absence of transparency regarding the management of resources available to the government. Governor Alia has publicly admitted that his administration has received approximately ₦1.1 trillion in revenues within three years.
However, available records indicate that the figures are even higher.
Between May 2023 and May 2026, Benue State received approximately ₦762.9 billion through FAAC allocations to the state government.
The twenty-three local governments also received approximately ₦527.7 billion from FAAC allocations. The state generated approximately ₦79 billion through internally generated revenue. The administration received billions of naira through foreign interventions, development partnerships and donations.
In October 2025, the government further obtained a domestic loan of ₦100 billion.
Collectively, these inflows amount to well over ₦1.2 trillion that has accrued to Benue State under Governor Alia’s watch within only three years.
This is unprecedented in the history of our state.
Never before has any administration enjoyed such enormous financial inflows within such a short period.
Yet, 21 out of the 23 local government areas of Benue State have little or no visible evidence of government presence.
Rural roads remain neglected.
Schools remain abandoned.
Healthcare facilities remain poorly equipped.
Water projects are largely non-existent.
Communities continue to suffer devastating attacks.
Thousands of displaced persons remain trapped in camps.
The inevitable question therefore is: What has happened to the huge volume of money?
Rather than answer this legitimate question, Governor Alia and his aides have chosen to spend valuable public time attacking Chief Samuel Ortom.
Governor Alia must also stop the unending habit of measuring his performance against an administration that governed during one of the most difficult periods in Nigeria’s economic history. The immediate past administration led by Governor Ortom, operated under the burden of two economic recessions, collapsing oil prices, dwindling federal allocations, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a devastating security crisis that displaced nearly two million Benue people. It is therefore both unfair and intellectually dishonest for Governor Alia to continue comparing his circumstances with those of Chief Ortom while conveniently ignoring the vastly different economic realities under which both administrations operated.
If Governor Alia truly wishes to evaluate his performance, he should compare himself with his contemporaries: governors who, like him, have benefited from the unprecedented revenue windfall arising from the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023, like President Bola Tinubu advised him when he visited Benue State in June last year.
The governor should look beyond Benue and examine what governors across the country are doing with the same subsidy removal opportunity. He should look at neighbouring states such as Enugu and Nasarawa, where visible investments in infrastructure, urban renewal, healthcare, education, agriculture and economic development are transforming communities. He should equally compare his record with those of fellow North Central governors in Niger and Plateau States who are utilizing increased federal allocations to deliver tangible projects and improve the living conditions of their people.
The true benchmark for Governor Alia’s performance is not Chief Samuel Ortom, who governed during years of severe economic hardship, but governors who are operating under the same favourable revenue conditions that he currently enjoys. Benue people deserve to know why, despite receiving unprecedented allocations and other financial inflows, their state appears to be lagging behind many of its peers in terms of visible development, security, transparency and overall quality of governance. Rather than devote energy to attacking his predecessor, Governor Alia should focus on explaining why other governors are translating the fuel subsidy windfall into measurable progress while Benue continues to grapple with worsening insecurity, growing displacement and an alarming deficit of accountability.
Even more appalling is the fact that despite receiving these enormous resources, Governor Alia is reportedly seeking approval for an additional ₦250 billion loan and has already approached the Benue State House of Assembly to begin the approval process.
This proposed borrowing comes on top of the ₦100 billion domestic loan already obtained by his administration in October last year.
The people of Benue deserve answers.
Why is another ₦250 billion loan necessary after receiving over ₦1.2 trillion in revenues, allocations, interventions, donations and borrowings?
What specific projects will the loan finance?
What are the repayment terms?
What burden will it impose on future generations?
Borrowing may be necessary under certain circumstances, but borrowing without transparency and accountability raises serious concerns.
We are equally alarmed by the silence surrounding billions of naira donated for victims of attacks and internally displaced persons.
Following attacks in Benue communities, several donations were publicly announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Senator George Akume, the European Union and several international humanitarian organizations.
These resources were meant to alleviate the suffering of displaced Benue people. Yet, no comprehensive public account has been rendered regarding their utilization. No detailed rehabilitation framework has been made public. No transparent accountability mechanism exists. The suffering of displaced persons continues unabated.
We are also disturbed by reports that the Alia administration has continued to deduct ₦13,217,391 monthly from each of the twenty-three local governments, amounting to ₦303,999,999 every month, under the claim of procuring relief materials for internally displaced persons.
Benue people deserve to know how these funds are being utilized.
Transparency cannot be selective.
Accordingly, we demand that Governor Hyacinth Alia immediately provide the people of Benue State with:
i). A comprehensive account of all revenues received by the state government from May 2023 to date.
ii). Details of all FAAC allocations received by the state and local governments.
iii). A detailed account of how over ₦1.2 trillion accruing to the state and local governments has been expended.
iv). Full disclosure of the state’s current wage bill.
v). Details of all loans obtained by the administration.
vi). Full details of the proposed ₦250 billion loan, including purpose, repayment structure and beneficiary projects.
vii). A comprehensive account of all foreign interventions, grants and international donations received.
viii). A comprehensive account of all donations received on behalf of internally displaced persons and victims of attacks.
ix). Details of all deductions made from local government allocations in the name of humanitarian interventions.
x. Details of the costs and procurement processes relating to major projects undertaken by the administration.
xi). A comprehensive security strategy and a clear timetable for returning displaced persons to their ancestral homes.
xii). A clear explanation regarding the status of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.
We wish to make it abundantly clear that we will no longer remain silent while the Alia administration attempts to rewrite history through falsehood and propaganda.
Governor Alia has completed three years in office. The era of blaming a predecessor must end. The responsibility for the current state of Benue rests squarely with those who presently occupy positions of authority.
Benue people deserve answers.
The people deserve accountability.
The people deserve transparency.
The people deserve security.
The people deserve development.
And above all, the people deserve a government that spends more time solving problems than manufacturing excuses.
Chief Samuel Ortom’s record remains available for public scrutiny. History will judge every administration based on facts, not propaganda.
As stakeholders in the Benue Project, we owe it to the people of Benue State and to future generations to defend the truth whenever it comes under attack.
The truth is that Chief Samuel Ortom served Benue under extraordinarily difficult circumstances and left behind visible achievements across sectors.
The truth is that Governor Hyacinth Alia has benefited from unprecedented revenues.
And the truth is that the people of Benue are still waiting for a comprehensive account of how those resources have been utilized.
The time for excuses is over.
The time for accountability is now!
Signed:
1. Hon Adzer Abya PhD: Coordinator
2. Hon Joseph Odaudu: Secretary
For Former Appointees of His Excellency Samuel Ortom