By John Ubah
Former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former Governor Samuel Ortom, Dr Terver Akase, has accused Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration of using attacks against Ortom and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, to divert attention from what he described as its failures in Benue State.
Akase, who described the attacks as “desperate and vitriolic”, said the administration was attempting to divert public attention from the controversy surrounding the reported obstruction of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, during his recent visit to the state.
He spoke in reaction to comments by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, who accused Ortom of supporting Aondoakaa as part of an alleged plan to return to power and assume the role of political godfather in the state.
Kula had also alleged that Ortom and Aondoakaa would “plunder” the state, while questioning Ortom’s decision to make his personal vehicle available to Obi after the latter’s movement was reportedly blocked in Makurdi while travelling to Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area, LGA, to sympathise with victims of the June 13, 2025 attack.
But Akase, addressing journalists at the weekend, said rather than address questions surrounding Obi’s aborted visit to Yelewata, where he had planned to donate relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, the administration had chosen to attack perceived political opponents.
He said: “The desperate and vitriolic attack launched by Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia’s administration against his predecessor, Chief Samuel Ortom, and the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, is nothing but a desperate attempt to divert public attention from the growing outrage and national embarrassment arising from the disgraceful treatment meted out to Mr Peter Obi during his visit to Benue State.
“Rather than address the disturbing reports that political loyalists linked to the ruling establishment obstructed Obi’s movement into Makurdi while he was on a humanitarian visit to IDPs, Governor Alia and his propagandists have resorted to insults, fabrications, character assassination and political mudslinging.
“It is the oldest trick in the book: when confronted with failure, manufacture enemies and change the subject.”
Akase particularly criticised the governor’s Chief Press Secretary for concentrating on attacks against Ortom and Aondoakaa while, according to him, avoiding critical questions about the performance and finances of the administration.
According to him, “Since assuming office in 2023, Governor Alia has enjoyed unprecedented financial inflows from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, following the removal of fuel subsidy, yet neither he nor his aides have provided Benue people with a comprehensive account of how those enormous resources have been utilised.
“They are permanently silent on how much the present administration has received since 2023. What projects have been executed with those resources? Why are local government areas across the state bereft of visible government presence despite the unprecedented revenue inflows?
“These are the questions Governor Alia’s media aides cannot answer, which explains why the current government has chosen propaganda over performance.”
The former media aide also accused the administration of insensitivity to the worsening security situation in the state, alleging that the governor’s spokesman failed to express sympathy over the reported attack on Ayilamo community in Logo LGA.
He said while political attacks were being made at a press briefing, “Ayilamo in Logo Local Government Area was under siege.”
Akase alleged that reports indicated that more than 200 armed attackers invaded the community, killing at least 10 residents and four security personnel.
“Yet, in the midst of such tragedy, not a single word of sympathy, concern or solidarity was extended to the grieving people of Ayilamo.
“That silence revealed an administration more preoccupied with political vendetta than with the protection of lives and property,” he alleged.
Akase also dismissed allegations that Ortom was secretly supporting Obi while publicly backing President Bola Tinubu, describing the claim as “absurd”.
He said Ortom had openly supported Obi during the 2023 presidential election before publicly declaring support for Tinubu later that year.
“The attempt to link him simultaneously to Obi’s visit and to the reported blockade of Obi’s movement is not only contradictory but intellectually bankrupt. The allegation collapses under the weight of its own illogic,” he said.
On the political situation ahead of the 2027 governorship election, Akase alleged that the Alia administration was becoming increasingly apprehensive about Aondoakaa’s growing political profile.
He said: “For months, Governor Alia’s handlers dismissed the opposition. Suddenly, they have become obsessed with Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN. Hardly a day passes without coordinated attacks on his person.
“The fixation is unmistakable. What the latest outburst has exposed is what many Benue people already know: the Alia camp has identified Chief Aondoakaa as a formidable political force and a credible alternative capable of challenging the governor’s re-election ambitions.
“That explains the panic. That explains the relentless smear campaign. That explains the desperate effort to drag his name into every political conversation.”
Akase challenged Governor Alia to focus on issues he said would determine the 2027 election, including insecurity, agriculture, infrastructure, employment, education, healthcare and social welfare.
“If Governor Alia’s administration believes it deserves another mandate, it should stop hiding behind propaganda and answer the fundamental questions confronting Benue State,” he said.
“What has it done about the worsening insecurity that continues to claim innocent lives? What has it done to revive agriculture and return farmers safely to their lands? What major infrastructure projects can it point to across the local government areas? What has it done to create jobs for the thousands of unemployed youths?
“What measurable improvements have occurred in education, healthcare and social welfare? These are the issues that will define the 2027 election, not cheap insults, manufactured controversies or the politics of diversion.”
On Aondoakaa’s campaign, Akase said the PDP candidate had presented himself as an alternative focused on security, accountability and good governance.
He said Aondoakaa had pledged to guarantee the security of lives and property, fully enforce the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017, facilitate the return of IDPs to their ancestral communities and secure their farms.
He added that the PDP candidate had also promised genuine local government autonomy.
“Chief Aondoakaa has committed himself to genuine local government autonomy. He has promised to end the culture of dependency in which elected local government authorities are currently forced to approach the state government every month cap-in-hand, for resources that should be available to them under the principles of local government autonomy.
“Above all, Aondoakaa has promised to respect the rule of law and govern with fairness, equity and justice. His message is simple: government must serve the people, not the other way around.”
Akase further defended Ortom’s decision to make his vehicle available to Obi during the latter’s recent visit to Benue, describing the gesture as one of courtesy that should not be politicised.
He said: “Chief Samuel Ortom is a 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.”
According to Akase, providing such assistance should ordinarily have been the responsibility of the state government because of Obi’s status as a former governor and presidential candidate.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Akase, who described the 2027 election as a contest that would be determined by the records and programmes of the candidates, said no amount of attacks against Ortom or Aondoakaa could conceal what he described as the reality confronting the people.
“The 2027 contest in Benue State will not be about propaganda or insults. It will be a referendum on failure versus competence, excuses versus solutions, and misplaced priorities versus purposeful leadership,” he said.
“Governor Alia represents the former; Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, represents the latter. And if that alternative is gaining traction among the people, the answer should not be fear or political apprehension. The answer should be a record of performance strong enough to convince Benue voters.”
