Alia’s govt witch-hunting opponents, seized 23 vehicles legally allocated to me – Ortom

Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of seizing 23 vehicles that were allegedly allocated to him by the state government.

Ortom made the allegation on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show.

The former governor said he challenged the seizure in court and secured a favourable judgment. According to him, the court ordered the Benue State Government to return the vehicles and pay ₦5 million in damages.

Ortom further alleged that the action was part of what he described as the Alia administration’s “witch-hunt” against political opponents.

“After I left office, vehicles that were given to me legitimately by the government, this government [Alia administration] went and seized them in a manner that was not befitting,” Ortom said.

“No communication was made to me. I went to court, and we defeated the government. And they were asked to pay me N5 million in addition to returning the 23 vehicles they took away from me, which were legitimately given to me by the government.”

Ortom accused the Alia administration of sidelining stakeholders from state affairs, saying no stakeholders’ meeting involving political parties had been held since the governor assumed office.

Ortom also alleged that Alia recently directed traditional rulers not to receive him when he visited his kinsmen to inform them about his wife’s senatorial ambition.

The former Benue governor said local government chairmen in the state had yet to gain control of their funds despite the supreme court’s ruling on financial autonomy for local governments.

Alia, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), succeeded Ortom as governor on May 29, 2023, after defeating Titus Uba, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate backed by the former governor.

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