Gov Ortom threatens to sue Akume over ‘false allegations’

The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has vowed to sue George Akume, the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs for allegedly peddling falsehood about him and his administration.

Ortom said the allegations against him were cheap lies calculated to blackmail his administration.

The governor while speaking at the Government House, Makurdi on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, was quoted to as saying: “I did not want to join issues with the minister, so I choose the honourable way.”

“The minister lost his senatorial ambition in 2019 because of his abysmal performance and now he has gone all out to vent his anger on me by destabilising my government, but I am not deterred because this is not the first time”.

“In 2018, he also instigated members of the state assembly to impeach me and they resisted by impeaching the then speaker. So, we will meet at the court,” Ortom added.

“I don’t want to join issues with the minister but I have to put the records straight for all Nigerians and beyond to know, because all the allegations by the minister in the said press conference were cheap lies and blackmail, it is just to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, so let him explain all the allegations at the court,” he said.

Ortom was quoted to have said this two days after a media briefing where Akume reportedly asked the governor to tender an “unreserved apology” to President Muhammadu Buhari for using ‘foul language’ against the president.

The former governor of Benue state also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Ortom’s administration while asking the president to declare a state of emergency in Benue state.