Samuel Ortom, the former governor of Benue State, is currently being interrogated at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ortom is being questioned at the EFCC’s zonal office in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, regarding allegations of misappropriation of public funds during his tenure as governor.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Ortom arrived at the EFCC facility on Tuesday morning. This development comes after Ortom had stated, a day before leaving office, that he had nothing to hide from the EFCC and that he ran a transparent administration as governor.
Samuel Ortom, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), served as the governor of Benue State from 2015 to 2023. He handed over the reins of government to Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Governor Alia has criticized Ortom for his handling of the state, claiming that he inherited an empty treasury and that Ortom took away all the official vehicles from the government house.
In response to the criticism, Ortom issued a statement on June 9, through his spokesperson Terver Akase, asserting that he had done nothing wrong by leaving the government house with the official vehicles.