By Terver Akase
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 (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, is nothing but a desperate attempt to divert public attention from the growing outrage and national embarrassment arising from the disgraceful treatment the state government sponsored against 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 internally displaced persons, 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.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, yesterday spent valuable time attacking Chief Ortom and Chief Aondoakaa but conspicuously avoided the one issue that continues to haunt the Alia administration: accountability. 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 utilized.
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.
Even more disturbing was the astonishing insensitivity displayed by the governor’s spokesman during the press briefing. While he was busy hurling insults at perceived political opponents, Ayilamo in Logo Local Government Area was under siege. Reports indicated that over 200 armed terrorists attacked the community, killing at least ten members of the community 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.
On the laughable allegation that Chief Ortom is secretly supporting Peter Obi while publicly supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nothing could be more absurd. Chief Ortom has never hidden his political positions. When he supported Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, he did so openly and courageously. Likewise, when he declared support for President Tinubu in late 2023, he did so publicly and has remained consistent in that position to this day.
Unlike those who speak from both sides of their mouths, such as the Alia administration that chooses political correctness and constant denials at the expense of the people, Chief Ortom has never been accused of political duplicity.
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. Evidence abounds that some of the youths who blocked Obi’s way into Makurdi township are often seen around the governor chanting war slogans including “No Alia, no Benue”.
Governor Alia recently claimed that displaced persons had been successfully returned to their ancestral homes. Peter Obi’s visit to the IDP camps, however, threatened to expose that claim as false, which explains the administration’s hostility towards anyone seeking to assess the situation firsthand and sympathize with the IDPs.
On the claim that Chief Ortom gave his vehicle to Peter Obi during his visit to Makurdi, we wish to state that the immediate past Governor of Benue 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 criminalize or politicize 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. Indeed, extending such a courtesy should ordinarily have been the responsibility of the Benue State Government itself, given the status of the visitor. 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. 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.
The truth is that the Alia administration is rattled.
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.
If Governor Alia’s administration believes it deserves another mandate, it should stop hiding behind propaganda and answer the fundamental questions confronting Benue State.
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.
No amount of invective against Chief Ortom or Chief Aondoakaa can conceal the reality confronting Benue people. The Alia administration’s growing resort to propaganda is itself an admission that it is struggling to defend its record.
Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, is offering Benue people a credible alternative they can trust, and that is precisely what is fueling Governor Hyacinth Alia’s growing restlessness. Aondoakaa has presented a clear vision for restoring security, justice, accountability and good governance in Benue. He has pledged to guarantee the security of lives and property and to restore the full enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.
He has also promised to return internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities, secure their farms and create the conditions necessary for farmers to return to productive agriculture without fear.
On local government administration, 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.
That is the alternative Aondoakaa represents. 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.
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. Governor Alia represents the former; Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, represents the latter.
Terver Akase, PhD
Media Consultant/ Fmr Special Adviser, Media & Publicity
September 12, 2026
