A heated verbal exchange unfolded on Sunday between the aides of former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, regarding the state’s mounting debt and alleged discrepancies in financial reporting.
In a public statement, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, Managing Director of the Benue Investments and Property Company (BIPC), revealed that the Alia administration allocates approximately N7.4 billion monthly towards servicing debts. This amounts to N21.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Asemakaha likened the state’s financial challenges to “flying an aircraft into turbulent headwinds,” revealing that Benue’s domestic debt stands at N122.5 billion, while its external debt is $26.4 million. He further disclosed that the state’s debt service ratio has surged to an alarming 413 percent.
Despite an increase in allocations from the Federation Account, Asemakaha emphasised that a significant portion of the state’s revenue continues to be diverted towards debt repayment. “What this means is that in Q1 2025, Benue State’s debt service cost was N21.4 billion, deducted from FAAC allocations as loan repayment,” he stated.
However, Ortom’s media aide, Terver Akase, swiftly dismissed Asemakaha’s claims, accusing the Alia administration of deliberately misleading the public about the true scale of the state’s financial difficulties. Akase called into question how the state could be spending more on debt servicing than the declared liabilities, demanding full transparency regarding Benue’s debt profile, repayment schedules, and revenue sources.
“If the Alia government claims Benue State spends N7.4 billion monthly on debt servicing, why has it not disclosed how much it receives in federal allocations each month?” Akase challenged, pointing out inconsistencies in the reported figures. He also questioned the realism of the debt service ratio of 413 percent, which he labelled “unrealistic and unverifiable.”
Furthermore, Akase insisted on the immediate publication of a clear and transparent debt profile for the state, including details of interest rates, creditors, repayment plans, and any outstanding refunds or recoveries. “The Alia administration must publish a transparent debt profile of the state domestic and external including interest rates, maturities, creditors, and repayment plans,” he asserted.
