Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has dismissed claims by his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Nyesom , to the effect that he was constructing the Aliade-Onu-Obarike-Ito-Otukpo and Makurdi-Naka-Adoka roads, describing it as a tissue of lies.
Reacting to publications in some dailies, Ortom asked if the N4 billion Wike claimed he had spent on the road was captured in the 2017 budget of Rivers State.
A statement by his Special Adviser, Media, and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, said there was no evidence that Wike did what he claimed to have done.
It read: “We read reports in a few national dailies on March 30, attributed to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that there were plans to disrupt his road projects in Benue State. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Benue State does not lack road projects under the Ortom administration, which has mobilised contractors back to site on 11 roads abandoned by Governor Wike’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, regime in the state.
“In spite of the recession, Governor Ortom is also constructing two major highways and 17 rural roads across the state, while contracts have been awarded for six other highways.
“Governor Wike’s claim was ridiculous because Benue State is not part of his state and even if he had constructed all his roads, he needed to have contacted stakeholders in Benue State, especially those from the benefitting communities.
“There is no evidence that he did that.”