The Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State said on Thursday that it is standing by its leader, the immediate past governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, to appear before the two commissions of inquiry set up by the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia.
On Monday, the governor inaugurated two judicial commissions of inquiry to probe the activities of the immediate past governor’s eight years of office.
The two commissions are “Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Income and Expenditure of Benue State Government from May 29, 2015, to May 28, 2023, and “Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Sale/Lease of Government Assets, Companies, and Markets (both State and Local Government-owned Markets), as well as Moribund Companies From or Before May 28, 2015, to May 28, 2023.”
The former governor, through his media aide, Terver Akase, had signified his readiness to appear before the panels and urged all his former aides to appear whenever they were invited.
Throwing its weight behind the former governor, the PDP in the state, through its publicity secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, said that it recognised probity and accountability as necessary components of good governance.
“Hence, we will stand by our leader, Chief Ortom, through this process of stock-taking, if that is actually what it will be.
The party, however, advised the governor to tackle the insecurity and looked into allegations of corruption levelled against some of his aides.
The statement read, “PDP recalls that only last week the governor issued a 14-day ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen who have streamed into the state with thousands of cattle to leave; however, there was no clear statement on the consequences for non-compliance with the ultimatum.
“Today marks the 8th day into that ultimatum, and if anything, the herders have intensified their influx into the state, coming in larger numbers and with larger herds of livestock, thereby deepening insecurity and putting in greater jeopardy the survival of the people who depend on the land for basic sustenance.
The party also advised the governor not to ignore the petition written to the anti-graft agency accusing the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs of allegations of illegal deductions and remittances from the accounts of the 23 local government councils into the private accounts of certain officials of the government and some suspected cronies of the governor.
The party also called on the EFCC, ICPC, DSS, and Presidency to ensure that those officials of the Alia administration fingered in the alleged grand theft of local government funds in the state are brought to book.
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