.... Those in APC fraternizing with him are the real enemies of Benue State
Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States once said: "the welfare of the whole is the proper purpose of the state". When Samuel Ortom was sworn-in as the Executive Governor of Benue State on May 29, 2015, he started well in his first four months but later deviated from the trajectory of considering the welfare of the good people of Benue State as the proper purpose of the state.
Regardless of whose ox is gored, just like the former governor of Benue State Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu (of blessed memory) once said: "politics is not a dirty game but it is most of those playing the game that made it dirty". The sad reality is that many politicians have made the game of politics very dirty and since most of them are hankering for avarice, they are there for their self-aggrandizement and to create a dynasty at the detriment of the good people of Benue State.
According to Blue Print Newspaper of May 28, 2023, Ortom disclosed that he had expended a total of ₦735.6 since May 29 2015 when he took over as governor of the state and total revenue generated by his administration from May 29th, 2015 to 30th April 2023 was ₦734.9 billion. If Ortom claimed his administration generated N734.9 billion in 8 years, what did he really expend N735.6 billion for that he couldn't clear the backlogs of salaries of Benue civil servants including pensions and gratuities?
In the Tribune of June 22, 2016, Samuel Ortom disclosed that his administration had only borrowed N53.5 billion since inception on May 29, 2015. What did he do with the money within one year when the federal allocation, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and other funds were received by his administration?
Sahara Reporters of January 26, 2022 with the headline: "Governor Ortom Has Longest Record Of Unpaid Salaries Despite Collecting Every Loan – Presidency" reported that a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, made the remarks in a statement titled “The Incongruence of Governor Samuel Ortom on Arise TV” while reacting to his constant attacks on the President. Shehu said that Governor Ortom could still not perform his task despite collecting Salary Bailout, Excess Crude Loan and Budget Support loan, each repayable in 20 years. What did Ortom do with these funds that he couldn't take the welfare of Benue State civil servants as a top priority?
According to Vanguard report of October 5, 2023, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke said he sacrificed his monthly N600 million security votes for Osun development. This shows that Ortom was receiving not less than N500 million monthly as security vote for 8 years
According to The Sun report on August 6, 2018 titled: "Security Vote, Ortom and Witch-hunt, "Security vote is usually not subject to legislative oversight or independent audit. This is why it is surprising that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is probing the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, over its alleged misuse. Media reports last week quoted the anti-graft agency as alleging that the governor defrauded his state to the tune of N22 billion. The EFCC is also investigating 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting N375 million meant for the procurement of vehicles that would be used for oversight functions.
"According to the agency, between June 30, 2015, and March 2018, the Benue State governor ordered the withdrawal of N21.3 billion from four government accounts. About N19 billion out of the money was meant for the payment of six security agencies deployed in the state to quell the clashes between herdsmen and farmers. However, the state government allegedly paid less than N3 billion of this money to security agencies. The rest, the EFCC alleged, could not be accounted for."
Ortom had enough security vote to tackle Fulani herdsmen attacks so he cannot claim that the funds for payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities were used to fight insecurity during his administration.
I am extremely disappointed in some people in All Progressives Congress (APC) who are fraternizing with Ortom because of their hatred for the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia. They have shown that they are the real enemies of Benue State.
If they don't like Alia, they are free to express their dislikes, but supporting Ortom to express their hatred for Alia has exposed their chronic hypocrisy. It shows that they never loved Benue State and put their selfish interests above the collective interest of the good people of Benue State. These groups of people called Ortom so many unprintable names when he defected from APC to Peoples Democratic party (PDP) on July 25, 2018. On different occasions, these people described Ortom as the worse governor in Benue State history. Many criticized Ortom for not taking the welfare of the good people of Benue State seriously as a result of his abysmal and amorphous governance.
Some of such people claimed today that they have forgiven Ortom and are hypocritically celebrating him. Their acts have shown that late Rev. Adasu was right when he said politics is not a dirty game but most of the people who play the game make it dirty.
On the 63rd birthday celebration of Ortom, these groups of people were busy pouring encomiums on Ortom. Some of them described him as a great person Benue State should be proud of. Others said he is one of the best governors in Benue State history.
What has Ortom done positively different from May 29, 2023 when he left office as governor to this day that made him deserve such encomiums? Is the forgiveness these groups of people talked about political or spiritually driven? If Alia had done exactly what they wanted, would they had forgiven Ortom and praised him the same way?
Those who are supposed to be paradigms of development and positive ideological revolutions have decided to obfuscate the good people of Benue State with their incontrovertible display of hypocrisy and mediocrity.
Benue State must be great against all odds. Those who promote hypocrisy and celebrate mediocrity cannot stop the progress of Benue State. Let the Will of God be done!
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