Alia’s government seized 23 vehicles from me, Ortom alleges

Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has accused his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, of seizing 23 government vehicles allocated to him after he left office.

Ortom said he challenged the seizure in court and secured a judgment directing the state government to return the vehicles and pay him N5 million in damages.

He made the claim on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, alleging that the seizure was part of what he described as the Alia administration’s “witch-hunt” of political opponents.

According to Ortom, the vehicles were legitimately allocated to him by the state government before the end of his tenure but were taken back without any formal communication to him.

“After I left office, vehicles that were given to me legitimately by the government, this government went and seized them in a manner that was not befitting,” he said.

The former governor also criticised the Alia administration for allegedly excluding political stakeholders from state affairs, claiming that no meeting involving political parties and other stakeholders had been held since Alia assumed office.

Ortom further alleged that Alia recently instructed traditional rulers not to receive him when he visited his kinsmen to inform them about his wife’s ambition to contest for a senatorial seat.

Alia, who belongs to the All Progressives Congress, succeeded Ortom on May 29, 2023, after defeating the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Titus Uba, who was backed by the former governor.