Assets committee recovers 37 vehicles from Ortom

• They are witch-hunting me, says ex-governor

The Secretary of Benue State Assets Recovery Committee, Mr. Terlumun Tombowua, has said the committee had recovered 37 government vehicles from former Governor Samuel Ortom.

The committee said its investigation was ongoing in order to carry its assignment to a logical conclusion.

But Ortom said the investigation was a part of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s smear campaign to witch-hunt him.

In a statement by his media aide, Terver Akase, the former governor said the building where the vehicles were found is an automobile workshop belonging to a transport company.

He said the owners of the vehicles took them there for repairs.

In another statement, the Benue State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Bemgba Iortyom, claimed that the building where the vehicles were recovered was an automobile workshop belonging to a company owned by the former governor.

On Tuesday, the assets recovery committee, accompanied by security personnel, stormed the automobile workshop of the former governor and towed 37 vehicles of various brands to the Government House in Makurdi.

On Thursday, while the committee’s secretary confirmed that the body had taken possession of 33 vehicles from the former governor’s workshop, the chairman, Hinga Biem, told The Nation on phone that four more vehicles had been impounded, bringing the total number to 37.

Tombo said the vehicles comprised Hilux vans, SUVs and buses.

The secretary said investigation was still ongoing to recover more assets in vehicles and illegal acquired landed property.

A member of the committee, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the committee would extend its search to Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos, if the need arises.

The Nation learnt that the first 33 cars were recovered from a workshop on Makurdi-Otukpo road, opposite Union Bank at Wurukum in the state capital.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Sir Kulas Tersoo, said no amount of propaganda would deter Governor Alia from performing his constitution duty.

Reacting to allegations of witch-hunt by the former governor, Tersoo said Alia’s action was premised on the assignment given to the committee to recover the property that officials of the past administration illegally acquired.

The governor’s aide wondered what Ortom, who was not known to be a car dealer, was doing with 37 exotic vehicles bought with tax payers’ money.

He said Alia was focused to reposition the state, which he alleged was looted by the past administration, adding that no amount of blackmail and propaganda would stop him.

Tersoo advised those claiming that their vehicles were on repairs at the automobile workshop to show the particulars for authentication.