MAKURDI, NIGERIA — A committee assigned to recover assets from the previous administration in Benue State has confiscated over 30 vehicles, including Hilux vans, as part of an ongoing crackdown on misappropriated resources.
The Assets Recovery Committee, chaired by Hingah Biem and appointed by Governor Hyacinth Alia in June 2023, was tasked with tracing and recovering all moveable and immovable assets held by officials from the administration led by former governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom.
The committee sprung into action on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, descending on an automobile workshop situated along the Makurdi/Otukpo road.
There, they seized numerous vehicles reportedly linked to associates of the former governor.
The workshop was allegedly owned by one such associate.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, Biem detailed the committee’s actions.
“Other locations have been identified as the recovery process is still ongoing,” he told journalists.
The committee’s mandate extends beyond vehicles and includes lands, houses, furniture, and machinery formerly in the possession of state officials.
In reaction to these developments, former governor Ortom, speaking through his media aide, Terver Akase, accused Governor Alia’s administration of persecution.
He claimed that his administration and its associates were being unfairly targeted.
He further stated that there are records to prove that past governors and their appointees were permitted to purchase their official vehicles for personal use after leaving office.
Whether these claims will impact the ongoing recovery process remains to be seen.
