The Executive Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has overturned all recent appointments made by his immediate past predecessor, Dr Samuel Ortom. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula, disclosed this in a press release on Wednesday, 7 June 2023.
The body of the statement identifies the affected actions of the Ortom administration:
“1. All recent appointments into the State Civil Service made by the outgone administration from May 2022 to date are hereby nullified with immediate effect.
“2. All those who have retired but are yet to vacate their offices or duty post either because of extension or contract appointment are to proceed on retirement forthwith.
“3. All Civil Servants due for retirement but are yet to tender their letters of retirement or notice of retirement should do so forthwith and proceed on retirement immediately.
“4. All Civil Servants and or persons appointed Permanent Secretaries from the month of January 2023 to date should revert to their previous positions forthwith.
“5. All the postings and transfers made in the state civil service from October 2022, to date are hereby nullified. The affected staff should revert to their former ranks, stations or offices with immediate effect.”
The incumbent Governor, who took his oath of office on 29 May 2023, has not hidden his desire to chart a course different from Ortom’s. Even before taking the reins of power, he had set up a committee of technocrats to revisit the financial plans and activities of the man who wildly described himself as the “Defender of Benue Valley” owing to his famous spats with the Federal Government over unabated terrorist acts in Benue and surrounding states.
