During an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Tever Akase, the former media aide to ex-Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, leveled serious criticisms against Governor Hyacinth Alia on Monday. Akase argued that Alia’s comments about inheriting salary debts contradict President Bola Tinubu’s earlier statements on the state of the economy.
Governor Alia had previously claimed that his predecessor left behind a massive backlog of unpaid salaries and pensions, which he has been forced to manage. However, Akase refuted this, insisting that Ortom only failed to pay salaries for five months out of his eight-year tenure. He emphasized that Ortom managed 91 out of 96 months successfully, despite inheriting a N160 billion debt from previous administrations, including N72 billion in salary arrears and over N100 billion in contract obligations.
Akase drew attention to President Tinubu’s remarks made in Kigali, where the president noted that 27 states were unable to pay salaries before fuel subsidy removal, labeling the economy as fake. He also reminded that during a visit to Benue State after the Yelewata attack, Alia denied the death toll of over 200, which was confirmed by no less than the Pope. During a town hall, Tinubu asked governors if they were borrowing to pay salaries after subsidy removal; they all said no, due to increased federal allocations to states.
Using Benue as an example, Akase highlighted that under Ortom, the state received an average of N3 billion per month, while Alia now gets nearly N20 billion—an increase of over 700%. Despite Nigeria experiencing two recessions, Ortom managed to pay salaries for 91 months out of 96. He also paid N42 billion of inherited pension arrears, which had accumulated from previous administrations. Therefore, Akase concluded that labeling Ortom a failure is inaccurate and unfair.