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Tag: Ortom

  • Libel: Ortom slams N10bn suit on Oshiomhole

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has slammed a N10bn libel suit against the chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Adams Oshiomhole.

    The governor, through his legal counsel, Samuel Irabor, demanded that Oshiomhole should within seven days retract the libellous statements he made against him in 10 national dailies and in the prime beat of national television and radio.

    Ortom also asked for N10bn as punitive, general exemplary and aggravated damages.

    The governor said that the national chairman had, during a press conference, made wild allegations against his administration on security votes, non-payment of salaries and the killings in the state.

    “It boggles the mind to begin the process of thinking that led to your unconscionable statement that ‘Benue Christians’ are responsible for the mass killings and sustainable genocide against their own people”, he said.

    The governor’s counsel said that since his client exercised his political freedom by moving to a party that guaranteed safety for his kinsmen, Oshiomhole had embarked on a campaign of hatred and propaganda against his person.

    He however called on the national chairman to within seven days of receipt of the letter meet all the demands or face legal action.

     

  • Ortom yet to be served impeachment notice- Benue Speaker

    The new Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon Titus Ugba, has said that the Executive Governor of Benue State, Mr Samuel Ortom, is yet to be served an impeachment notice, adding that the eight lawmakers cannot give impeachment notice and thereafter seek for signatures for impeachment.

    Ugba stated this while speaking with journalists in Lagos, at the 2018 Conference of Speakers hosted by the Lagos State House of Assembly, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja Saturday.

    He stressed that the eight lawmakers did not follow the due process in serving the Governor Impeachment notice, adding that there was no plan to impeach the governor, adding further that the police had been giving court order to vacate the assembly complex for the lawmakers to perform their legislative duties.

    The Speaker expressed confidence in leading the Assembly despite the crisis in the state, debunking the allegation against the Governor on the payment of N20million to a Boko Haram suspect.

    He said that the security apparatus at the IDPs camp have been withdrawn and that herdsmen have started coming back into Benue State.

    Ugba added “Benue has once again demonstrated that democracy is a thing of the people. On the 24th of July to be precise, 22 members came together to say they are tired of what the previous speaker was doing and now they made me the speaker of Benue State House of Assembly.

    “When I came here yesterday I was not initially allowed to participate in the speakers conference but the speakers rose that I have to attend because it is not the conference of Speakers that determines who is the speaker of the House. So, I was allowed because the conference is not about partisan but coming together as a family to promote the unity of this country”

    He stated further that “The eight members in Benue State did not give the Governor Impeachment notice; they said they are looking for signatures to impeach him.

    “You can’t give impeachment notice before seeking for signatures of members for Governor’s impeachment,” he said.

  • 2019: Buhari will trounce Saraki, Ortom, Tambuwal, other defectors in their states – Momoh

    2019: Buhari will trounce Saraki, Ortom, Tambuwal, other defectors in their states – Momoh

    A former Minister of Information, Chief Tony Momoh, on Friday, said the defection of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and other Bigwigs from the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not stop President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election in 2019.

    Momoh made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, saying Buhari would still win the defectors in their domains.

    The former minister said Buhari in 2015 got more votes than most of the defectors in their respective zones and states, and the same thing would happen in the next election.

    He further advised APC not to lose sleep over the defection, as Buhari would record his biggest win ever in 2019.

    Momoh said: “I do not think the defection would stop the President from winning in the next election.

    “I will not say that it will not affect the votes of the president; votes are about people, and now that some people have left, it will have some impact.

    “But I do not think that the impact will be such that it would stop the president from winning.

    “Come to think, the president got more votes more than the defectors in their senatorial zones and states mostly in the North in 2015.

    “Overall he got 15million votes in the election. Now that he is a president who has performed well, he will get more votes mostly in the South-South and South-East.

    “He has delivered great projects in these two regions which did not really vote for him in 2018.The votes the president will get in these regions will make up much more for the very few votes he might lose to defections in the North,” he said.

    Recall that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Samuel Ortom, Bolaji Abdullahi among other bigwigs dumped the APC for the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) in recent days.

     

  • 2019: Be prepared for war, Secondus tells Saraki, Tambuwal, Ortom, other defectors

    2019: Be prepared for war, Secondus tells Saraki, Tambuwal, Ortom, other defectors

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has told defecting politicians from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in its fold to get ready for a fierce political battle in 2019.

    Secondus, who stated this on Wednesday night at a dinner in honour of the defectors, according to the party, said the battle to wrest power from the ruling party would be fierce as the APC would not want to relinquish power easily.

    He described the defectors as courageous men and women, whom he said refused to keep quiet in the face of “flagrant disobedience of rules in the country.”

    “This event is organised in honour of those who took bold steps to join others to rescue the nation.

    “They are heroes. They could have chosen to remain where they were and even return to their seats (in the National Assembly), but because they could not see what is going on in the country and keep quiet; that is why they are here.

    “They cannot see the killings, the frame-ups, the unemployment and the kind of military democracy that cannot even be described, that they are foisting on us and keep quiet. If we are in the military government, we would know. Rule of law and court orders are no longer obeyed

    “These heroes of democracy who have decided to move from the ruling party are unusual men. We need to honour them. Their decision is in defence of democracy.

    “But let remind you that we are very far from getting there. Be ready to fight both real and proxy wars.

    “It is going to be a very long walk to freedom. There is no longer freedom in Nigeria. No freedom of the press. If you tell them the truth, they say it is hate speech. When you tell them the whole truth, they say it is fake news.”

    He described the day the defection took place in both chambers of the National Assembly as the “days of freedom”.

    He condemned the federal government for always claiming not to know what happened in the country, adding that the defections that took place in states such as Kwara, Sokoto, Kogi, Kano and others were “because Nigerians are in pains.”

    “When things happen, the government will say they don’t know. They are always not aware and are never bothered.”

    “When Nigerians are hungry, they don’t lose sleep. The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, will lock down government houses and the federal government would say it was not aware or not bothered.

    “We are expecting more states to join us and we pray that they will not be bothered. When we win in 2019, they will not be bothered as well. We are not here to rejoice but to welcome our members and also encourage them to talk to others like them to join us.”

    Recall that about 50 members of the National Assembly have defected from the ruling APC to other parties. Most of them moved to the PDP.

    A week after, Senate President Bukola Saraki also dumped the party for the PDP.

    Three other governors have also moved to the PDP. They are Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto.

    The APC has however stated that the recent gale of defections will not affect President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection bid in 2019.

  • Start your security vote probe from Buhari’s office, Ortom tells EFCC

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Wednesday advised operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to commence its proposed probe of spending of security votes from the presidency.

    Ortom who spoke to journalists after his broadcast said he never heard of where security vote was investigated.

    Recall that the EFCC had on Monday claimed that it had begun investigation of the Benue State governor, house of assembly members and permanent secretaries.

    But Ortom asked, “Why am I being investigated by the EFCC? My records are there. But so far, I am the only governor in Nigeria whose security vote is being investigated by the EFCC.

    “How can you single me out of 36 (governors) for investigation? It (security vote) is not something that any government will begin to disclose. Why should Benue’s case be different if not persecution? If the EFCC wanted a genuine investigation of security vote spending, they should have started from the Presidency and across the 36 states.

    “If their focus was on Benue State, they should have started from 1999. But this is not the case. With the enormous security challenges in the state since my assumption of office, it is surprising that any one would expect me to do nothing but keep the security vote in the safe.”

    He added, “The security vote spending being investigated spans from 2015 to 2018, a period of grave security challenges in the state. I reiterate that the investigation is a clear case of persecution. I have not misappropriated, diverted or stolen any money. I have nothing to hide. I assure that the investigators can find nothing incriminating against me.”

    Speaking on the impeachment move against him, Ortom described it as illegal and said the people behind his impeachment had plotted another move to destabilise the state.

    The plan he said was to unleash Fulani militia on the state. He said strange herdsmen and 10,000 cows had already invaded Guma (his country home) and local government area.

    Ortom said his council (Guma) Chairman, Anthony Shawon, gave him the information.

    “Having failed to achieve their anti-Benue objectives, the next phase is the unleashing of Fulani militia. I have been told that after the Operation Whirl Stroke succeeded in chasing away the herdsmen, they have started moving into Guma again as of yesterday. I have already informed the Commander of OPWS and I hope security agencies will take up the matter

    “I believe Mr President is not aware of happenings in the state but I expect him to caution the Inspector-General of Police and the Director General of DSS,” he said.

  • Benue crisis: Court stops Ortom’s impeachment

    A Makurdi High Court on Wednesday restrained the eight members of the Benue State Assembly from proceeding with the impeachment process initiated against Governor Samuel Ortom.

    The court also restrained the affected lawmakers from sitting and upheld their suspension pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.

    Eight members of the state Assembly led by the impeached Speaker, Terkibir Ikyange, had, on Monday, begun impeachment process against the governor.

    Ruling on the application on orders restraining the eight members from sitting, presiding judge, Justice Theresa Igoche, also restrained the Chief Judge of Benue State from receiving or acting on any process or request issued pursuant to the purported sitting, proceedings and resolutions of 30th July, 2018 aimed at or commenced for the purpose of removing governor of the state, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.

    Justice Igoche upheld the subsisting order that was earlier given by Chief Judge of the state, Justice Adam Onum, restraining the former Speaker, Terkimbi Ikyange, and other former principal officers from parading as same and ordered the security agencies to vacate the premises of the Benue State House of Assembly.

    The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Michael Gusa, applauded the ruling, saying as a law abiding government, they would always seek redress in the law courts.

    Also speaking, Sebastian Hon (SAN), who appeared on behalf of the plaintiffs alongside over 20 lawyers, described the ruling as sound and promised to abide by the orders of the court.

  • EFCC accuses Benue governor of N22bn fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has linked Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to an alleged fraud to the tune of N22bn.

    This is just as the EFCC revealed that 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly are under investigation for allegedly diverting N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles that would be used for oversight functions.

    The allegations are contained in a report of an investigation which began in 2016 but was made available to our correspondent on Monday.

    According to the report, the governor, between June 30, 2015 and March 2018, ordered the withdrawal of N21.3bn from four government’s accounts in Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and the United Bank for Africa.

    On paper, about N19bn out of the money was said to be meant for the payment of six security agencies that had been deployed in the state to address the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

    However, the EFCC stated that less than N3bn of the money was paid to the security agencies while the remainder could not be accounted for.

    The report reads in part, “We investigated four bank accounts belonging to two Benue State Government’s agencies. The first agency is the Benue State Government House which has an account in UBA with number 1017348051 and another account in GTB with number 0027952907. These accounts received N1, 916, 635, 206 from the state’s allocation between June 30, 2015 and March 2018.

    “The second government agency is the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services. The agency has an account with UBA with number 1007540119 and a First Bank account with number 2023788057. Between the same period, the accounts were credited with N19, 468, 951, 590 from the Benue State allocation.”

    The anti-graft agency said one person identified as Oliver Ntom, withdrew over N19bn from the account of the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services based on the instructions of the Permanent Secretary, Boniface Nyaakor.

    The money, which was allegedly withdrawn under the pretext of security votes, was said to have been diverted while the memos written in respect of the withdrawal were destroyed.

    The report adds, “Investigations revealed that N19bn was withdrawn by one Oliver Ntom, a cashier. Sometimes, in a day, he would withdraw as high as N500m by cashing several cheques worth N10m each.

    “The permanent secretary upon interrogation said anytime security agencies requested funds, he would approach Governor Ortom who would ask him to write a memo to that effect. The permanent secretary would write and the governor would approve the money.

    “The permanent secretary said the funds are usually given to six security agencies. He said the highest that any security agency gets is N10m a month while the least any of the agencies gets is N5m a month.

    “He said after the money has been released, the governor usually orders that the memo be torn to pieces. It is important to note that if a total of N60m is given to all the security agencies collectively every month as claimed by the permanent secretary, it cannot amount to half of N19bn in three years.”

    The commission said the funds being spent were not in the budget of the Benue State Government.

    It further accused the governor of failing to pay salaries despite withdrawing N1.328bn from the Joint State Local Government Account in Fidelity Bank with number 5030058730.

    The report adds, “Investigations revealed that one John Bako, a member of one of the security outfits in Benue, withdrew N28m while one Andooi Festus, believed to be a cashier from the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs withdrew N1.3bn. They have been invited.”

    Meanwhile, the EFCC has invited 21 out of the 30 lawmakers in the Benue State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting part of the N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles in 2016.

    According to the anti-graft agency, the Benue State Government had in 2016 awarded a contract worth N417m (N375m after tax) to Mia-Three Nigeria Limited to procure 30 Prado TXL vehicles for the lawmakers.

    However, only eight members received the vehicles while the others diverted the funds.

    The report adds, “About 21 of the lawmakers are under probe. However, 25 of the lawmakers have returned all the money they received which adds up to N245m. Four others have failed to return the remaining sum of N31m.”

    Attempts to get a reaction from Ortom were unsuccessful. Calls to the mobile of his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, were neither picked nor returned.

    A response to a text message sent to him on the subject was still being expected as of the time of filing this report at 7.30pm.

  • Benue crisis: Saraki, Dogara speak on impeachment plot against Ortom

    …ask president to call police to order

    Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara have described as ” a desecration of the legislative sanctity”, the on-going situation in Benue State in which eight out of the 30 members of the State House of Assembly have commenced impeachment process against the governor and with the support of the police, the 22 other members who constitute more than two-third majority are kept away from the Assembly complex.

    In a statement jointly signed by their media aides, Saraki and Dogara also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the police to order and stop being used to achieve political purposes.

    “We have monitored closely the development in Benue State in which the impeached Speaker, Terkimbir Ikyange led seven other members to serve impeachment notice on the state Governor, Samuel Ortom while the 22 other members who constitute more than two-third majority have been prevented from having access to the chamber. We believe this is illegality and does not conform to parliamentary procedure on impeachment.

    “We also note with surprise the role of the Police in this undemocratic events in which the minority is seeking to impeach a Governor against the position of the majority. We believe it is the sacred institution of the legislature that is being desecrated and rubbished in all these negative developments.

    “The situation in Benue State House of Assembly has grave implication for the nation’s democracy and it represents a throw-back to the period of dictatorship in our country. It also represents how the Nigeria Police are being misused to achieve political end. In a statement recently, the Presidency derisively referred to an era in the past where a minority number of legislators was used to impeach Governors who were unfriendly with the Federal Government. What we are seeing in Benue now is a return to that inglorious era.

    “We believe this unlawful and unconstitutional move to impeach Governor Samuel Ortom by a minority should be condemned by all lovers of democracy, at home and abroad. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the police to order and prevent a break-down of law and order. We also call on friends of Nigeria in the international community to lend their voice in condemning the perpetration of illegalities and actions that can subvert our democracy.

    “There is already a tense atmosphere in Benue State following the recent killings. Nobody should encourage any action or move which may exacerbate the security situation in the North Central State.

    As leaders of the Federal legislature, we are ready to work with our colleagues in both chambers of the National Assembly to prevent any attempt to destroy any state legislature or use it to derail democracy”, Saraki and Dogara stated.

     

  • Governor Ortom speaks amid impeachment saga

    The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has reacted to the report of the impeachment notice served him by eight meembers of the State’s House of Assembly on Monday.

    Crisis in the State House of Assembly took a new turn on Monday as eight lawmakers served an impeachment notice on the governor.

    The lawmakers, Adanyi Benjamin, Terhemba Chabo, Benjamin Nungwa, Bem Mngutyo, Adams Okloho, James Okefe and Nick Eworo were among members that moved for the governor’s impeachment.

    The plot was coordinated by Terkimbi Ikyange who was removed as speaker of the Assembly last week.

    Speaking to newsmen on the development through his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Ortom said he was still the governor of the State, adding that the lawmakers lack the constitutional powers to remove him from office.

    He said, “Ortom is still the Chief Executive of the State. You can’t just impeach a Governor in a flash. You have to go through all the legal and constitutional processes.

    “They have not been able to form a quorum, so it is not possible. Only eight people served the governor the notice, even at that, 2 other members who were part of the cangaroo sitting were on the side of the governor, so how can anybody call that an impeachment notice. It’s laughable and must be ignored completely.

    “And for the record, there is a court injunction restricting the impeached Speaker from parading himself as the Speaker of the House and that court injunction has not been vacated.

    “He has been suspended for 6 months, he doesn’t have any constitutional right to go back to that Assembly.

    “He has done nothing to vacate that injunction so whatever he did stands null and void.”

  • BREAKING: Eight APC lawmakers serve impeachment notice on Benue gov, Ortom

    Eight of 30 lawmakers of the Benue State House of Assembly have served impeachment notice on Governor Samuel Ortom.

    The eight lawmakers also took control of the premises of the state parliament with the support of the police, Tahav Agerzua, a spokesperson for Mr Ortom told newsmen.

    This is coming days after 23 PDP lawmakers impeached Speaker Terkimbi Ikyange. He was accused of failing to carry other members along in legislative activities.

    Mr Ikyange, who remained in the APC despite recent mass defection of his colleagues to the PDP, was said to have been impeached because he was no longer in the majority party.

    Some of the majority House members who impeached him insisted it had nothing to do with his status as a minority lawmaker.

    Last week, PDP lawmakers said they were compelled to use the Government House in Makurdi to conduct legislative businesses after security agencies locked the state’s Assembly complex.