How Ortom hid over 570 bank accounts from Alia

 

 The  immediate passed governor  of  Benue State,  Samuel  Ortom, is  accused of  maintaining  600 accounts during his  term.  

 

 

 The Benue State government claims Ortom concealed the fact that his administration  was operating  600 accounts. 

  This is why Governor Hyacinth Alia has frozen all government accounts,  Commissioner for Finance and Budget  Michael  Ogleba said when members of the State Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) visited his office in Makurdi on Tuesday, Daily Trust Reports.

 The Treasurer  said that  when he assumed office,  the governor  had  only 25 accounts  shown,  but information  from  the  Nigeria Interbank System  showed that  there were 600 accounts in  the  state.  

 “When we  arrived,  we asked for  accounts and  statements and  were presented with about 25 bank accounts. A causal  examination of Nigeria's interbank system revealed that  the  Benue  government  had  over  600 accounts. 

  "So  the  governor had  to freeze  these  accounts to  find out  exactly what was  going on,"  he said. 

  While  commenting on the  national debt  profile,  Mr. Ogleba claimed  that the  Alia administration had  inherited over  359 billion Nigerian Naira in debt, including local government arrears. 

 "The debt  of  the state itself  exceeded N200 billion," he said, adding that this included internal and external debt. However,  local  governments  also have their own debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities and local contractors that  make  up the  remaining N150 billion.  

  “Therefore,  the  Alia government  has no reason to lie about the  national debt.  We  do  ourselves a  disservice  when  we say we  have funds  that we do not own.  For example, if  we need  a loan If so,  who will  lend it to us?”  

 

 Ortom, who  left office  in May this year,  denied leaving  behind debts amounting to 359 billion naira.  

 The former governor,  through his media aide,  Tarver  Akase,  said the  allegations were  a  prank  against him and his eight  years in office.  “The  current  Benue State  government  is selling a narrative to unsuspecting people of the state that  it  inherited N359 billion as  a loan  from the previous government.  It  is also a deliberate  ploy  to  deceive  the  government. “Governor Ortom,  in his handover  speech, clarified  that  although  the debt situation of the  state government may seem high (187.56 billion naira)  at the time of his  departure; ” Daily Trust Reports.

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