Alia seized 23 vehicles allocated to me… I won them back in court – former Benue gov. Ortom slams incumbent Governor

Samuel Ortom, the immediate past governor of Benue, has accused his successor Hyacinth Alia, of seizing 23 vehicles “legitimately” allocated to him by the state government.  

Speaking on Tuesday, September 8, during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Ortom said he challenged the seizure in court and won, with the court ordering the state government to return the vehicles and pay him N5 million in damages. 

Ortom alleged that the seizure was part of 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 also 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 further 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.