The former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has received praise from the state’s Peoples Democratic Party chapter for accepting an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to be questioned about his eight years in office.
On Tuesday, Ortom accepted an invitation and went to the anti-graft organization’s Makurdi office.
The party praised Ortom’s action as exemplary in a statement by its publicity secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, regarding the former governor’s submission to the EFCC’s invitation.
The statement said, in part, “Our great party hails ex-governor Ortom’s conduct as exemplary and reflecting the clarity of conscience. He earlier today went over to the Makurdi office of the EFCC to honour the invitation extended to him by the Commission.
“The former governor’s action also portrays him as a man of his word as it fulfils promises he made while in office that at the conclusion of his tenure, he will be willing to give an open account of everything that he did in execution of the mandate vested in him as governor by the Benue electorate,” the statement continued.
According to the statement, Ortom will be the first former governor of the state to voluntarily submit himself for questioning by the anti-graft organisation after leaving office.
Iortyom added that the former governor’s behaviour has earned the party’s high praise.
While it won’t be the first time a former governor appears before the anti-graft body, the PDP observes that Ortom’s case is remarkably unique due to the lack of hostility and acrimony that typically accompany such appearances.
“The party is satisfied that Ex-Governor Ortom’s conduct is a clear reflection of his lack of hidden sins, which he ought to be eluding because ‘only the guilty usually are afraid,’ according to the saying.
“We implore other public officials to follow the Ortom standard by carrying out their tasks and responsibilities while in office within the bounds of the law so they may come to open an account when required without any fear,” the statement reads.
In the meantime, the former governor had not yet departed the EFCC Makurdi Zonal Office as of the time of this report, 5:15 p.m.
