They Are Permanently Silent – Ortom Challenges Alia Over ₦1.2 Trillion FAAC Revenue

Former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to explain how the state spent the ₦1.2 trillion it received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) after the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Ortom said the funds also included allocations to the 23 local government areas, and the people of Benue needed to know how their money is being spent.

Naija News reports that Ortom’s media consultant and former adviser on media and publicity, Terver Akase, shared the former governor’s concerns during a news conference in Makurdi on Saturday.

He said, “The governor’s chief press secretary yesterday spent valuable time attacking Chief Ortom and Chief Aondoakaa but conspicuously avoided the one issue that continues to haunt the Alia administration: accountability. Since assuming office in 2023, Governor Alia has enjoyed unprecedented financial inflows from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), following the removal of fuel subsidy, yet neither he nor his aides have provided Benue people with a comprehensive account of how those enormous resources have been utilised.

“They are permanently silent on how much the present administration has received since 2023.

“Alia’s government and that of the 23 local government areas got about ₦1.2 trillion naira from the FAAC from 2023 till date. What projects have been executed with those resources? Why are local government areas across the state bereft of visible government presence despite the unprecedented revenue inflows?

“These are the questions Governor Alia’s media aides cannot answer, which explains why the current government has chosen propaganda over performance.”

Reacting in a statement, Alia’s chief press secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, said the governor’s record was solid enough to earn credit, particularly when compared with the performance of the previous administration of Ortom.

‎‎The statement said, “It has become imperative to state clearly that increased federal revenue does not automatically translate into unlimited resources for state governments.

“During Ortom’s reign, many of his fellow governors who were willing to perform had to make the most of what they received from the Federation Account. Benue, under Ortom, was among the states that frequently cited paucity of funds as an excuse for underperformance.

“The Alia administration, on the other hand, has operated in an environment of unprecedented inflation, rising costs of construction, insecurity and other economic pressures. Therefore, quoting FAAC inflows without examining the corresponding cost of governance and development is a deliberately incomplete way of assessing the performance of any government.”