In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alia, Sir Tersoo Kula, said Benue people “cannot be deceived again into returning to the PDP days of locust.”
The statement, titled “Benue Cannot Be Deceived Back to the Locust Days: A Note for Samuel Ortom,” accused the immediate past administration of plunging the state into debt and neglect while claiming that the current administration had restored hope and development.
Kula said Governor Alia “came well prepared with a vision” and was fully aware of the “daunting challenges involved fixing the state he was coming to face.”
According to him, “for many years, the people of Benue State endured a painful era under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule, headed by Mr. Samuel Ortom.”
“It was a period many citizens now prefer to describe as the ‘days of locust,’ as they were marked by hardship and uncertainty,” the statement read.
The governor’s spokesman further alleged that salaries became irregular under the Ortom administration while pensioners suffered neglect.
“The basics of governance including payment of salaries became irregular, while senior citizens who had sacrificed their youthful years in service to the state were abandoned to suffering and tears. The cries of retirees became a daily reminder of a government that had completely lost touch with the people,” he said.
Kula also accused the previous administration of accumulating massive debts despite receiving intervention funds from the Federal Government.
“Despite huge allocations and reckless heavy borrowings, the state’s debt profile continued to rise alarmingly, with little to show in terms of meaningful development,” he stated.
“During this time, many interventions including a humongous amount of money in the name of Bailout were sent to the state. This was in addition to not having fewer than two tranches of Paris Refund money sent to the state, amongst other reasonable federal and international interventions.”
He claimed that the Alia administration discovered liabilities far above what was officially declared during the handover process.
“Their lies were further exposed when the Alia government upon assumption of office found out that, the Ortom administration had left behind over N300 billion at the state level, and over a N100bn of local government debts, as against N187.56 billion written in his handover note,” Kula alleged.
He further claimed that the current administration was still battling judgement debts and garnishee orders resulting from the previous government’s actions.
“As at today, the judgement debts running into billions which the Alia administration has been forced to grapple with, with garnishee orders here and there, are all courtesy of the misgovernance of the previous administration,” he said.
Defending the performance of Governor Alia, Kula said the administration had revived workers’ morale through prompt attention to salaries and welfare.
“The Benue workforce now carries out their duties with renewed enthusiasm because salaries and other welfare packages are receiving the deserved attention. Pensioners who once felt forgotten and were termed ‘dead people’ have regained hope and dignity,” he stated.
The statement also highlighted several projects allegedly completed by the Alia administration, including “the establishment of a specialized University at Ihugh, establishment of a multi-million Food Basket Brewery, a Fruit Juice Company, rehabilitated and revived the Otobi Water works that is supplying portable water in Otobi, Otukpo and environs.”
Kula added that the government had completed “over 40 intra city roads,” installed solar street lights and introduced institutional reforms aimed at repositioning the state.
He also dismissed comments made by Ortom’s spokesman during an appearance on Arise Television on Monday, May 25, 2026.
“The outing by Ortom’s spokesman on the Arise Television earlier on Monday, May 25th, 2026, where he desperately tried to undermine the developmental strides of Governor Hyacinth Alia, is not surprising to anyone,” he said.
“A political family whose legacy is centered on propaganda cannot identify and acknowledge development when they see one.”
Kula maintained that Benue people had already seen “the contrast” between the two administrations.
“The Benue people have come to understand the difference between leadership and propaganda; the difference between progress and deception,” he said.
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