By Amos Aar
THE Assets Recovery Committee set up by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration to recover properties allegedly acquired illegally by the immediate past administration on Wednesday seized over one hundred (100) vehicles from former Governor Samuel Ortom.
Although Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Alia, Tersoo Kula, told National Record Thursday that the Assets Recovery Committee headed by Chief Hinga Biem was yet to confirm the exact number of vehicles so far seized, he disclosed in a statement on Facebook that the vehicles were over a hundred.
In separate attempts to defend Ortom, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) publicity secretary in Benue State, Bemgba Iortyom, and Ortom’s media aide, Terver Akase, made conflicting and contradictory claims in their separate statements on Facebook.
While Iortyom claimed in PDP’s statement that the cars, which he said included other people’s vehicles, were towed out of a commercial automobile workshop operated by London Lines Transport Ltd where they were being repaired.
Akase, in his statement, however claimed the vehicles were recovered from a private automobile workshop owned by Gov. Ortom’s business concern, Oracle Business Ltd.
Akase was Ortom’s Chief Press Secretary almost throughout the administration’s eight years.
Although Akase described the recovery of assets from his principal and appointees who served under him as a persecution, lawlessness, witch-hunt and harassment, National Record has confirmed from a Daily Post publication of July 5, 2017 that Ortom acted similarly when he took over from Gabriel Suswam in 2015 and claimed to have recovered over N8 billion.
Other assets to be recovered by Alia’s government include plots of land, houses and furniture as the assets recovery committee continues its operation.
Recovered 30 exotic vehicles part of my retirement benefits: Samuel Ortom
The Benue state government had recently raided an ‘automobile workshop’ said to belong to the immediate past governor.
Vehicles Part of My Retirement Benefits – Samuel Ortom
Meanwhile, Akase has been quoted to have stated that the vehicles in questions were part of Ortom’s retirement benefits given to him by the State Executive Council via a resolution at the end of the immediate past administration. He said the resolution authorised him and his deputy and other officials of the administration to leave with their vehicles.
Akase, in a news report by People Gazette, listed several lawmakers and officials from the past administration who left with official vehicles and are currently serving in the current administration. According to him, the action is a move to humiliate his principal in every unconventional means.
“Before his administration elapsed, the state executive council made a resolution and asked him and his deputy and other officials of the administration to leave with their vehicles,” Mr Akase told reporters.
He further alleged victimisation of his boss, saying several other former administration officials similarly left with exotic vehicles.
“The current administration has not hidden its resolve to torment the immediate past governor, Samuel Ortorm. All former governors left with their vehicles. The vehicles that were officially allocated to them.
“And Governor Ortom cannot be an exception.
“So, it appears that the current governor is yet to look into the extracts of excos and handover notes. If and when they do, they would realise Mr Ortom has not done anything illegal. It has been the tradition.
“Even the chief of staff to the current governor was a majority leader of the House, and he left the government with official vehicles,” he said.
In his remarks, Hinga Biem, a member of the committee, said the exercise had kicked off in the past weeks, where the government have been conducting tracing of movable and immovable properties suspected to be owned by Benue state.
He said the committee is focusing on properties that were bought between 2015 and 2023.
