Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has broken his silence over the controversy surrounding Peter Obi’s recent visit to the state, explaining why he made his vehicle available to the presidential candidate during the trip.
Ortom, through his media aide, Terver Akase, said refusing to assist Obi would have been petty, particularly because the former Anambra governor was in Benue on a humanitarian mission.
The former governor was reacting to accusations by Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia that he was behind Obi’s visit to the state.
Ortom argued that Obi, as a former governor and presidential candidate, deserved basic courtesy while visiting Benue.
He said, “Statesman who understands the demands of public service and the obligations that come with leadership. It is therefore both ridiculous and shameful for anyone to attempt to criminalise or politicise the simple act of making a vehicle available to a fellow Nigerian leader.
“Peter Obi is a former governor, a presidential candidate and one of the most prominent political figures in the country. Imagine how it would have sounded if Chief Ortom had refused to assist him with transportation while he was in Benue on a humanitarian mission to visit internally displaced persons.
“Such a refusal would rightly have been viewed as petty, inhospitable and beneath the dignity of a former governor. Indeed, extending such a courtesy should ordinarily have been the responsibility of the Benue State Government itself, given the status of the visitor.
“That the Alia administration is now trying to make a controversy out of what was merely a humane, courteous and statesmanlike gesture exposes the poverty of its argument and the desperation behind its propaganda. In other climes, leaders are commended for extending courtesies across political divides, not vilified for doing so.
“The attempt to portray an act of hospitality as evidence of wrongdoing is both intellectually dishonest and politically immature.”
The war of words between Alia and Ortom erupted after Obi’s planned visit to Benue was disrupted.
Obi had arrived in Makurdi last Tuesday with plans to travel to Yelewata to pay a condolence visit to families of victims of the June 2025 massacre. His convoy was, however, blocked by youths around Gyado Villa, a few kilometres from the airport.
Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, subsequently alleged that Ortom had facilitated the visit and questioned why a man publicly backing President Bola Tinubu would make his vehicle available to another presidential candidate.
According to the state government, an investigation allegedly linked the vehicle used by Obi to Ortom. Tersoo said the vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser registered in Ortom’s name.
“Benue State Government had commenced an investigation into the alleged incident, and the information obtained so far indicated that the vehicle used to convey Obi from the Makurdi Airport was linked to former Governor Ortom.
“Obi was seen driving in Mr Samuel Ortom’s Sports Utility Vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser, with registration number ABUJA: GWA 608 BT.”
Tersoo further said the vehicle information was obtained through Federal Road Safety Corps records.
He said, “Investigation linked the vehicle to Samuel Ortom. The vehicle was registered in his name and associated with his Judges Quarters address in Makurdi. The report also identified the vehicle’s chassis details, application date and other registration information.
“Other details of the vehicle, as obtained from a basic check across the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) vehicle information report, include:
“The question is, how can someone who publicly says he is working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu make his vehicle available for the use of another presidential candidate?”
But Ortom dismissed the suggestion that his action amounted to political double-dealing.
Responding to the allegation that he was being “double-faced”, the former governor described it as “laughable”, insisting that he was a man of his word and would stand by candidates he publicly supported.
Ortom recalled that he supported Obi in 2023 but has since declared his support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
