Former envoy faults Ortom’s remarks on Alia and governance in Benue

Terhemen Tarzoor, a former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly and Nigeria’s former ambassador to Namibia, criticised former governor Samuel Ortom for reported remarks about Governor Hyacinth Alia. He called the terms “419,” “fake Reverend Father” and “shenanigans” inappropriate, and defended the Catholic Church’s accountability systems. Tarzoor also said it was unfair to compare Ortom’s eight-year administration with Alia’s roughly three years in office without accounting for each government’s time in office and goals. On benefits Ortom reportedly said he had been denied, including a house in Abuja or elsewhere, Tarzoor said he knew of no law providing for them.