Ortom never paid N20m to any Boko Haram suspect ― Benue Speaker

The new Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Hon Titus Ugba, has debunked allegation that the state governor, Mr Samuel Ortom, ever paid N20million to a Boko Haram suspect, even as he raised the alarm that following withdrawal of security apparatus from the IDPs camp, herdsmen had started coming back into the state.

Ugba said this on Saturday while speaking with journalists in Lagos, at the 2018 Conference of Speakers hosted by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

This was just as he maintained that Governor Ortom was not served any impeachment notice, declaring that the eight lawmakers, who claimed to have done the service, “cannot give impeachment notice and thereafter seek for signatures for impeachment.”

“The eight members in Benue State did not give the governor impeachment notice; they said they are looking for signatures to impeach. You cannot give impeachment notice before seeking for signatures of members for governor’s impeachment,” Ugba said.

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The Benue Speaker insisted that there was no plan to impeach Ortom, disclosing that the police had been giving court order to vacate the assembly complex for the majority 22 lawmakers to perform their legislative duties.

He expressed confidence in leading the assembly despite the crisis in the state, pointing out that Benue had once again demonstrated that democracy was about the people.

“On the 24th of July to be precise, 22 members came together to say they are tired of what the previous speaker was doing and how they made me the speaker of Benue State House of Assembly,” he said.