By Barnabas Agashua
(Former Senior Special Assistant to His Excellency on media).
I read a mischievous post by one Tyokever Felix making annoying false claims regarding the history of salaries and pensions in Benue State – a matter he knows nothing about.
The said young man needs to know that all previous administrations in Benue State, including the military regimes, owed salaries and pensions. Governor Aper Aku owed teachers for an entire year, while Governor Orshio Adasu also owed several months of salaries. Governor George Akume faced similar challenges with salary and pension payments.
When Governor Gabriel Suswam vacated office in 2015, he left behind N72 billion in unpaid pensions and seven months of salaries.
Governor Samuel Ortom inherited this significant burden and immediately began to address the backlog of salaries and pensions. It is important to note that during Ortom’s tenure, Nigeria experienced two recessions, along with the impact of COVID-19. These economic downturns drastically reduced federal allocations to near zero. Despite this, Governor Ortom managed to pay salaries consistently for most of his two terms. Additionally, he implemented the N18,000 minimum wage for Benue teachers.
By the time Ortom left office, he had reduced the pension burden he inherited from Suswam from N72 billion to N30 billion, meaning he was able to pay off N42 billion in pensions. It was also Governor Ortom who domesticated the PENCOM law (Contributory Pension Scheme) in the state and contributed over N8 billion to bring Benue closer to the required threshold, enabling the state to access funds to clear pension arrears. Governor Alia is now benefiting from this visionary initiative.
As mentioned earlier, Governor Ortom inherited seven months of salary arrears from Suswam. Out of the 96 months over his eight years in office, he paid 91 months, leaving only five months unpaid. That is a governor who served the state during one of the most challenging periods in its history.
Now, regarding the current Governor, Hyacinth Alia: he has come into office at a fortunate time, as the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products by President Bola Tinubu has made funds abundantly available to states—at levels four times higher than under the previous administration. Ortom’s government received an average of N3.5 billion a month, while Alia is receiving an average of N15 billion a month! This is why no state in Nigeria is currently owing salaries and pensions. The issue of salaries is no longer a concern. Other governors are showcasing state-of-the-art projects, rather than counting salary payments as an achievement, as the Benue government and its supporters are doing.
It is also on record that before leaving office, Governor Ortom took proactive steps to negotiate and ensure significant debt reduction and relief for the state. Due to Ortom’s passion and commitment to protecting his people against herdsmen attacks and injustices by the previous Federal Government, Benue State under his administration was denied several entitlements, including funds from bonds, Stamp Duty, SURE-P, and Signature Bonus—funds that the state legitimately deserved and for which he fought. The Alia administration has since received all those funds. What they owe the people now is an explanation of how they have managed these resources.
The Alia administration should also tell Benue people what it has received from Abuja as federal allocations and what the state wage bill is.
Lastly, let me say that as one of those who served in the Ortom administration as an appointee who are conversant with the facts and figures regarding governance of the state between 2015 and 2023, we will not fold our hands and watch peddlers of falsehood and agents of deception loyal to the current government continue to mislead the public. We will counter every lie with indisputable facts and stoutly repel all sponsored propaganda against the person of His Excellency, Chief Samuel Ortom.