From Ochei Agbo
Ortom had faced financial and security challenges during his first term whereas Suswam enjoyed relatively stable flow of revenue from the federation account and the state’s revenue board as oil prices in the international market remained relatively stable. The issue, however is: How did Ortom manage the crises that bedeviled his administration between 2015 and the first quarter of 2019? n May 29, 2019, Governor Samuel Ortom would be sworn in for a second term of four years. As he prepares for the inauguration, the question on the lips of many Benue people are: Would he be able to clear salary and pension arrears as well as gratuity owed workers and retirees respectively? Would he be able to return Benue to its glory in agriculture, as attacks by suspected militia herdsmen subside? Would he be able to restore the beauty of Makurdi, the state capital? Would he be able to resuscitate moribund industries? Would he be able to restore Benue’s pride in education and revitalise infrastructural facilities, which gave his predecessor, Gabriel Suswam, several awards?
During the celebration of his victory in the recent governorship election, he said he would correct all the mistakes made during his first term. This means that he was already aware that he either did some things, which he was not supposed to do or he did not do some things, which he was supposed to do. This brings us to the assessment of his first term of four years.
His first term
As stated earlier, this period was marked by challenges of insecurity and lack of resources for the payment of salaries, pension and gratuity. When he assumed office, he said he borrowed money to kick start his government because he inherited an empty treasury. Salary arrears and pension as well as gratuity stood at over N69 billion, while contractual obligations stood at over N70 billion.
Due to the need for government activities to continue in the face of declining prices of oil in the international market and the problem of insecurity in the Niger Delta region, the Federal Government approved a bailout of N28 billion for Benue State. But the state government said the money did not cover payment of pension arrears and gratuity. With the money, workers were paid the four months’ salary arrears owed them by the immediate past administration of Suswam.
The downturn in the economy brought about decline in federal revenue allocation to states. The price of crude oil in the international market, which was as high as $120 per barrel went as low as $29. At the state level, farming and other economic activities came to a standstill because of herdsmen/farmers crisis, which started in 2011 and increased to the extent that more than 10 local governments had been occupied by militia herdsmen when Ortom assumed office in May 2015. By 2017, over 13 of the 23 local government areas had been deserted because of killings and destruction of crops/other properties as well as farm lands.
Within the period, many agreements were signed between the investors, especially those that responded to Ortom’s frequent trips to China to woo them. The memoranda of understanding were abandoned. Agreements were signed in the areas of agro allied industries, crop production and industrial parks but the people could not reap the benefits of the agreements, which finally ended in waste paper baskets, as the security situation scared away foreign investors from committing money to any project in the state.
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The biggest of the problems that arose as a result of insecurity was the failure of the Cargo Airport project, which was to be financed by a consortium of firms at the cost of about N33 billion. Reasons for the failure of the project, which attracted a lot of publicity during its flag-off have never been satisfactorily explained to the people.
Decline in oil revenue at the federal level led to decline in statutory allocations that came to the state, hence, the decline in execution of projects that were lined up by the Ortom administration, especially the construction of new roads and completion of those started by his predecessor. Mobilisation fees were given to contractors after many contracts were awarded at the time the state had slim finances.
Before his first term ended, government functionaries could not tell the people the exact stage of work on the new roads and the ones billed for completion. The road from Daudu to Gbajimba had been awarded and almost abandoned before Ortom assumed office, while the one from Makurdi to Gbajimba, which was awarded by the Ortom’s administration almost suffered the same fate. Work recently picked up on the road where surface dressing is being intensified.
Many of the rural roads that were started in the first two years of his administration could not be completed, as contractors could not continue due to attacks by herdsmen, even as soldiers made spirited efforts to subdue the militiamen with more sophisticated weapons.
When the problems of payment of salaries and pension continued, the state decided to declare a state of emergency in salary and pension payment but to no avail. Many panels were set up for the screening of workers, as the wage bill of N7 billion was said to be too high. Implementation of the various panels’ reports became a problem, as workers at various levels began to complain when some names were removed from the payroll.
Environmental sanitation became another issue, as polythene bags containing refuse littered road dividers and shoulders. Streets, main roads and drainages in Makurdi, the state capital, became blocked by refuse heaps, which refused to disappear until the Robert Amedu Task Force on Sanitation came into existence. No one knows if the task force would be able to clear the mess, as environmental sanitation vehicles continue to beg for replacement. Some people wanted to know if refuse disposal vehicles were as costly as road construction equipment but the question has been begging for answer.
No one knows if Ortom would provide an answer in his second term, as he recently took time out to inspect the sanitary condition of Makurdi and also inspected broken down vehicles at the premises of the Benue State Environmental Sanitation Authority, BENSESA.
Street lights, which added beauty to Makurdi in the night, became moribund within the period under review. The high cost of street lights frustrated the reactivation and resuscitation of the ones the governor met. The issue of water supply, which was to be tackled through direct labour because of outrageous estimates submitted by contractors that indicated interest in the reticulation of water in Makurdi also became abandoned due to lack of funds. Water supply in Otukpo collapsed due to problems associated with pumping of water from Otobi Water Works to the town.
When it became obvious that the allocations from the federation account and internally generated revenue couldn’t help in solving the salary problem, it was said that labour leaders and the state government reached an understanding that after two allocations, one month salary would be paid. This understanding later became an issue, as some local government staff and teachers, who were being owed arrears of many months began to complain even as the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, kept mute. Arrears of salaries owed local government staff today is over nine months, while that of teachers hover around ten to eleven months.
During this year’s May Day celebration, teachers and pensioners appeared in odd dresses in the parade that took place at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangia Square, Makurdi, due to the issue of nonpayment of salary and pension arrears.
Suswam had owed pensioners six months arrears but the arrears have increased within the past four years to over 17 months after three of the six months arrears owed them by the Suswam administration had been settled by Ortom. The state government received some amounts of money in form of salary support funds, Paris Club refunds to the tune of billions of naira and cleared two of the seven months’ salary arrears owed workers but the N30 billion pension arrears and gratuity are yet to be paid.
Recently, the state government constituted salary and water supply committees, which were given the mandates of looking at the various problems that have confronted the state in the areas of salaries and pension as well as water supplyply. The people of the state are yet to be briefed on how far the committees have gone in the discharge of their assignments
Ortom recorded successes in the area of youth and women empowerment programmes championed by his wife, Eunice. Her non-governmental organisation, Eunice Spring of Life Foundation, ESLF, was on course but the 2019 elections slowed down its activities. Many elderly men and women as well as youths have benefitted from the foundation’s programmes in the areas of economic empowerment, free health services and educational development.
Benue women can today beat their chests and say that the Ortom administration has implemented the 35 per cent affirmation for them in the area of appointments. Within the two and a half years the foundation has existed, over N100 million has been made available as soft loans to women and youths, who have attended various workshops, seminars and training in various enterprises like catering, welding and fabrication, hair dressing, tailoring, tie and dye, carpentry, shoe and soap making and other small scale businesses and are doing well in their various localities.
In addition, her husband facilitated the release of N1 billion as loans to farmers, businessmen and women at the Bank of Industry, BOI, which has also made available a counterpart fund of N1 billion with an interest rate of five per cent. On the N1 billion made available by the state government, no interest rate has been charged, as the facility was approved by the state government to make life easier for business men women and youths as well as farmers across the state.
One other successful project the Ortom’s administration embarked upon in its first term was the rehabilitation of primary schools. The project gulped about N7 billion with the state and Federal Governments, contributing N3.5 billion each. Some of the contractors that could not execute the jobs given to them are yet to be brought to book. But it was learnt that their names had been compiled and ready to be forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC.
This is why some observers have expressed worries that the billions of naira, which a probe panel alleged that the immediate past administration misappropriated or diverted may have been forgotten in the name of reconciliation. Governor Ortom had left the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with the excuse that he was given the red card by Akume and the national leadership of the party. To Ortom, President Muhammadu Buhari’s lack of attention to the killings that took place in Benue amounted to red card, so, he had to leave the party.
According to him, Akume was having overbearing influence on him in the state. So, he had to disentangle himself so as to be able to administer the state properly and independently. But, how far he has gone with the independent administration is yet to be seen.
It is a fact that after leaving the APC for the PDP, Ortom recorded huge success during the 2019 elections but it would appear that many other things that were undone when he was with Akume have remained undone. He recorded success when additional soldiers were sent to the areas that used to experience herdsmen attacks with relative peace returning even as Akume was said to have given the negative impression that Benue people were killing themselves.
As those loyal to Akume were being disengaged, new persons were being engaged with the result that the wage bill issue has remained largely unsettled. Since the governor announced that the state’s total wage bill was over N7 billion and various instruments were used to ensure that the high wage bill went down, no further information has been given to the people as to whether the situation has improved or not.
Internally generated revenue would have helped matters, especially in the area of completion of some projects. But it would appear that the removal of the former chairman of the board, Mrs. Mimi Adzape Urubibi, who was loyal to Akume slowed down revenue generation efforts. The revenue, which was about to hit N1 billion monthly under Urubibi went down until the end of last year.
Perhaps, the problems of insecurity and the state’s poor revenue base made budget estimates for three years to be far from being realistic. In those years, the state did not implement more than 30 per cent of its income and expenditure estimates.
The ranches establishment law and Ortom’s firm stand against the invasion of Benue State made him to win the 2019 governorship election, not based on his performance in office.
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Ortom’s second term challenges
Ortom’s second term would officially commence on May 29, 2019. To make his inauguration a success, the governor announced the constitution of a committee. He had also constituted a policy review committee before his re-election. He stated on the occasion of his victory party held at the Benue Peoples House that he would try to correct the mistakes made in his first term.
One of the issues he may find difficult to contend with in his second term is that wage bill. Although he wanted to reduce the wage bill by setting up several committees to look into the matter, this may not be achievable, as those that supported him during his re-election, especially party stalwarts and loyalists are likely going to push for the engagement of their loyalists. Even as Ortom said that he had done away with godfatherism for good, one wonders whether those that gave him soft landing in the PDP would not become his godfathers.
The governor appears to have a bogus size of executive council with some of the members duplicating the duties of others. The situation where the executive council is made up of more than 40 members in a state where the resources is slim leaves much to be desired.
Also, the number of personal assistants, special assistants, senior special assistants, principal special assistants, appointed in his office and offices of special advisers and commissioners as well as heads of extra ministerial departments who are over 300 should be pruned down for ease of work and reduction in wage bill, as he considers disengaging and engaging new hands.
The governor should be seen to be implementing some of the reports of the many staff audit panels he had constituted with a view to calling a spade a spade and paying those that may be laid off their entitlements. Where good reasons are not given, such staff should be allowed to stay. At the end of the day, Governor Ortom should be able to tell Benue people how much his government saved from the implementation of the reports submitted by the various panels
It is expected that the governor would reduce the number of his aides after a thorough scrutiny if he must succeed in his second term. This is because many of those that worked for him as aides did little or nothing throughout their stay in office. Moreover, the huge salary and pension arrears as well as gratuities owed workers and pensioners call for restraint in government spending, especially in the area of recurrent expenditure.
The governor should avoid overseas trips, especially trips to China where investors had indicated interest in investing in the state but later declined due to security and other reasons.
Since the economic team inaugurated for the economic advancement of Benue could not achieve much, and since, none of the moribund industries have been resuscitated, such a committee should be disbanded in the interest of the public. Similarly, those that championed acrimony between the state and the Federal Government because of the seeming neglect of the people during attacks by suspected herdsmen should be advised to soft-pedal, as such practice may continue to put Benue in a disadvantaged position.
It is on records that infrastructure and other facilities have continued to elude Benue because of the acrimony that arose between Benue and the Federal Government. Such misunderstanding was necessary in the past but not at present because the state government has expressed some level of satisfaction with the activities of Operation Whirl Stroke. Benue needs to be in the main stream of governance at the federal level.
Benue was to be self-sufficient in many areas, including agriculture in the past four years but the opposite became the case largely due to reasons of insecurity and lack of resources. It is being suggested that the state should go back to the drawing board to see where things went wrong and begin to go into lobbying for projects and appointments at the federal level since the security situation appears to have improved a little with the efforts of Operation Whirl Stroke.
Benue’s rich agricultural soil has not been utilised due to insecurity and the misunderstanding between the state and the Federal Government, which encourages rice, cassava, soya bean and wheat production in other states, including arid regions. Benue has been left out of this scheme, thereby increasing hunger in Nigeria.
As for the 2019 budget estimates, which is about N199 billion, it is being suggested that it should not be allowed to under perform like those of the past three years. To this end, the state government should be more transparent in the management of resources. For instance, money received from the federation account every month should be made public. Also, as the security problems reduce, part of the security votes could be used for payment of pension and salary arrears as well as gratuities so as to bring back hope to the hopeless
The challenges before Ortom in his second term are enormous but like he said immediately he was declared winner by INEC on Sunday, March 24, correcting the mistakes he made during his first term would be the beginning of his success in the second term. He must be seen to be bequeathing a legacy that would stand the test of time in governance, especially in the areas of fighting corruption, ensuring reconciliation and ethnic balancing in appointments, fair distribution of projects and resources and the building of bridges of understanding across the various ethnic divides.
