Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has intensified his criticism of Governor Hyacinth Alia, alleging that the governor remains a suspended Catholic priest and is therefore not permitted to celebrate Mass, while also explaining why he made his vehicle available to the National Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during his recent visit to the state.
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Ortom, who spoke during a television interview and subsequently through his media aide, Terver Akase, maintained that his disagreement with Alia was not personal but centred on what he described as the governor’s conduct and style of administration.
According to Ortom, Alia had been suspended from priestly duties before becoming governor.
“Alia is only deceiving people that he’s a Catholic priest, whereas he is not. Alia was suspended even before he became governor. Many people did not know. He is a suspended priest,” Ortom alleged.
He further claimed that Alia “cannot offer any form of Mass,” while questioning the healing ministry the governor operated before entering partisan politics.
The former governor, however, insisted that Alia remained his “brother” and “junior brother,” saying his criticism was directed at what he described as deceit, hypocrisy and poor governance rather than personal hostility.
Ortom also addressed the controversy surrounding the vehicle used by Obi during his visit to Benue State, following claims by the Alia administration that the former governor facilitated the visit and was secretly working for Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking through Akase, Ortom confirmed making his vehicle available to Obi but dismissed suggestions that the gesture proved any political alliance.
He said it would have been petty and inhospitable for him to refuse transportation assistance to Obi, whom he described as a former governor, presidential candidate and prominent national political figure.
“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,” the statement said.
According to Ortom, extending such assistance was simply an act of courtesy.
“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,” he said.
He accused the Alia administration of attempting to politicise what he described as a “humane, courteous and statesmanlike gesture.”
“The attempt to portray an act of hospitality as evidence of wrongdoing is both intellectually dishonest and politically immature,” Ortom added.
The controversy followed Obi’s visit to Makurdi last Tuesday, during which he planned to travel to Yelewata to sympathise with families affected by the June 2025 massacre.
His convoy was, however, blocked by some youths around Gyado Villa, a few kilometres from the airport.
Governor Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, subsequently accused Ortom of facilitating Obi’s visit and questioned why a politician who had publicly declared support for President Bola Tinubu would provide a vehicle to another presidential candidate.
Tersoo said preliminary information obtained by the state government linked the Toyota Land Cruiser used by Obi to Ortom, citing Federal Road Safety Corps vehicle records.
“The question is, how can someone who publicly says he is working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu make his vehicle available for the use of another presidential candidate?” Tersoo asked.
Ortom rejected the suggestion that his action amounted to political double-dealing, insisting that his current presidential preference was clear.
He recalled that he supported Obi during the 2023 presidential election but said he had since publicly declared support for President Tinubu ahead of 2027.
According to him, making a vehicle available to Obi during a visit to Benue did not alter that political position.
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