‘These Cars Were Hidden In Mechanic Workshop’- Gov. Alia Blasts Ortom Over Seized Cars

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has fired back at former Governor, Samuel Ortom, over the case of seized cars hidden in a mechanic workshop before their recovery.

Naija News reports that this comes in response to Ortom’s claim that the current state government had seized cars given to him by the state Executive Council at the end of his tenure in 2023.

Ortom, while making the claim on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television, recalled taking the current state government to court and winning back the seized cars.

In response, Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, appearing on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, accused Ortom of running the state “aground” during his eight-year tenure.

Kula explained that the cars were hidden in a mechanic workshop, adding that security agencies’ intelligence led to their discovery.

He said, “These cars were hidden in a mechanic workshop somewhere and they claimed they don’t belong to Ortom himself. The owner of that workshop took the Benue State Government to court because of this.

“He said the cars were given to him legitimately by the Benue State Executive Council that he was the chairman of, that he always presided over, and appointed members as his commissioners, so it’s difficult to understand. But then, it has opened a vista to understand what Ortom entrenched in Benue State as the governor for eight years.

“This state was practically run aground by Ortom. I listened to him when he said the government was concentrating in Makurdi, the state capital, but this is tantamount to the fact.

“The owner of the mechanic workshop was the person who first of all took the government to court. In the first instance, these cars were hidden in a workshop, but it was intelligence from security agencies that some cars were hidden somewhere, and they had to invade the workshop and discovered these cars.”