‘It Would Have Been Petty’ – Ortom Speaks On Peter Obi’s Benue Visit, Tackles Alia

Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has dismissed allegations that he secretly worked with Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election, explaining that he only provided his vehicle to the former Anambra State governor as a gesture of courtesy.

Ortom, through his media aide, Terver Akase, said it would have been petty for him to refuse to assist Obi with transportation during his visit to Benue State last Tuesday.

Naija News reports that the development followed a fresh exchange between Ortom and Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration over Obi’s aborted visit to the state.

Obi had arrived in Makurdi with plans to travel to Yelewata to pay a condolence visit to families of victims of the June 2025 massacre.

His convoy was blocked by youths around Gyado Villa, a few kilometres from the airport.

Following the incident, Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, accused Ortom of facilitating Obi’s visit and alleged that the former governor, despite publicly supporting President Bola Tinubu, was working for Obi ahead of the 2027 election.

Tersoo said the state government had begun an investigation into the incident and claimed preliminary findings showed the vehicle used to convey Obi from Makurdi Airport belonged to Ortom.

He said the vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number GWA 608 BT.

According to Tersoo, the details were obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) vehicle information records.

“Benue State Government had commenced an investigation into the alleged incident, and the information obtained so far indicated that the vehicle used to convey Obi from the Makurdi Airport was linked to former Governor Ortom.

“Obi was seen driving in Mr Samuel Ortom’s Sports Utility Vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser, with registration number ABUJA: GWA 608 BT,” he said.

Tersoo further claimed that the vehicle was registered in Ortom’s name and linked to his Judges Quarters address in Makurdi.

He added that the report contained the vehicle’s chassis details, application date and other registration information. He asked, “The question is, how can someone who publicly says he is working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu make his vehicle available for the use of another presidential candidate?”

Reacting to the allegation, Ortom described the attempt to link his decision to assist Obi with political manipulation as “ridiculous and shameful.”

He argued that Obi was not an ordinary visitor but a former governor, presidential candidate and one of Nigeria’s prominent political figures.

Ortom said refusing to assist him with transportation during a humanitarian visit would have been petty and beneath the dignity expected of a former governor.

The former Governor said, “A statesman who understands the demands of public service and the obligations that come with leadership. It is therefore both ridiculous and shameful for anyone to attempt to criminalise or politicise the simple act of making a vehicle available to a fellow Nigerian leader.

“Peter Obi is a former governor, a presidential candidate and one of the most prominent political figures in the country. Imagine how it would have sounded if Chief Ortom had refused to assist him with transportation while he was in Benue on a humanitarian mission to visit internally displaced persons.

“Such a refusal would rightly have been viewed as petty, inhospitable and beneath the dignity of a former governor. Indeed, extending such a courtesy should ordinarily have been the responsibility of the Benue State Government itself, given the status of the visitor.

“That the Alia administration is now trying to make a controversy out of what was merely a humane, courteous and statesmanlike gesture exposes the poverty of its argument and the desperation behind its propaganda.

“In other climes, leaders are commended for extending courtesies across political divides, not vilified for doing so.

“The attempt to portray an act of hospitality as evidence of wrongdoing is both intellectually dishonest and politically immature.”

Ortom also rejected the allegation that he was being two-faced by supporting Tinubu while assisting Obi.

He called the accusation laughable and insisted he had always been clear about his political position.

The former governor said he publicly supported Obi during the 2023 presidential election but had now declared his support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.

He maintained that his support for Tinubu should not prevent him from extending ordinary courtesy to Obi when the need arose.