We read a newspaper report in which the Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Fidelis Mnyim, was quoted as saying, “the present government is still suffering from the consent judgments amounting to N3.6 billion entered into by the immediate past administration of Samuel Ortom.”
We recall that in October last year (2023), the same Attorney General, Barrister Mnyim, claimed in a widely published report that the current government inherited a debt profile of over N14 billion as consent judgment from the Ortom administration.
The apparent contradictions in the statements of the Attorney General smack of the schemes of an official who, though appointed to advise and guide the government on legal matters, is on a mission to mislead the same government and set his principal on a perpetual collision course with others for reasons only known to him. If the Attorney General has no idea what his role in government is, the honorable thing to do is to resign instead of engaging in hackneyed anti-Ortom narratives to massage his motives.
Barrister Mnyim, as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, is expected to know that a majority of the issues he raised in the said media report pertain to pensions and gratuity cases. There are records to show that the Ortom administration inherited pension and gratuity arrears that spanned several previous administrations, with many court cases filed by pensioners still unresolved when Chief Ortom took office in 2015.
One such case was the enhancement of minimum wage for Benue teachers. The teachers had concluded plans to embark on a strike before His Excellency Ortom was sworn into office in 2015. He had to swiftly meet with the aggrieved teachers, who explained to him the source of their frustration. Governor Ortom pleaded with the teachers to shelve the planned strike and assured them that his administration would not only implement the N18,000 minimum wage but also begin to pay the teachers’ salary arrears that had accumulated before he took over. Governor Ortom fulfilled the promise to the relief and appreciation of the teachers.
When the present administration came to power in 2023, relying on the advice of the state Attorney General’s office, the payment arrangement that the Ortom government had agreed upon with Benue teachers—who felt betrayed and approached the court to seek redress—was jettisoned. So if there is any garnishee court order, the Attorney General knows better than anyone else that the decision to default on the arrears payment agreement the government had with the teachers is one of the bases for the litigations resulting in garnishees.
It is equally imperative to state that when Chief Ortom came to office in 2015 and met pension arrears of other retirees running into billions of naira, some of the court cases had led to the garnishing of accounts of the state. In his characteristic humanitarian approach, Governor Ortom recognized the fact that the senior citizens had served the state honourably and deserved to be treated with dignity. Consequently, he chose not to contest the claims of the pensioners in court and instead sought amicable resolutions to the disputes.
The State Government under Governor Ortom reached an agreement with the retirees and began to pay their pension arrears and gratuity as financial resources permitted at the time. This was in the face of a challenging economic climate characterized by significantly reduced federal allocations to states. Nigeria experienced two separate recessions in 2016 and 2020, while the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the economic situation.
The Attorney General should blame himself for the wrong advice that resulted in the government’s decision to abandon the payment arrangements established by the previous administration, prompting the retirees to revert to legal action.
Interestingly, the current Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Mnyim, previously represented clients who litigated against the Benue State Government. He should clarify to the media whether the cases he handled contributed to the garnishee orders leading to the reported N3.6 billion.
The former Benue State Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, prays for his successor, His Excellency Governor Hyacinth Alia, and wishes that he succeeds in providing the dividends of democracy to our people. This is why since he left office over a year ago, he has not engaged in any act of sabotage against the Alia administration, and he has no intention of doing so.
Chief Ortom will continue to pray and wish the present administration well, believing that the success of Governor Alia is the success of all Benue people.
By Terver Akase
September 24, 2024.
