By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Barely 24 hours after complying with their earlier resolution for the suspension of some Government officials, Benue State House of Assembly Lawmakers on Thursday August 21,2025 screened and cleared six out of the eight Commissioner-nominees submitted by Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The Legislators, however, rejected the nomination of Prof. Timothy Yangien Ornguga over petitions written against him by some individuals , particularly his former students at the Benue state University.
The Source reports that the Benue State House of Assembly had earlier declined the screening of eight Commissioner-nominees citing Governor Alia’s failure to implement its resolution calling for the suspension of three Government officials at least for a period of six months.
The officials included the Executive chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area , Maxwell Ogiri ,the Chairperson of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB Mrs Grace Adagba,and the Executive Secretary of the Benue state Lottery Commission Michael Uper.
However ,after an initial refusal, Governor Alia on Wednesday August 20, asked the affected officials to proceed on a month-long suspension
A statement from Kula Yersoo ,the Governor’s media aide informed that the suspension of the officials were in line with the resolutions passed by the law makers .
” In line with the resolution passed by the House His Excellency affirms the following:
” The suspension of the Executive chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area Mr Maxwell Ogiri for a period of one month effective today Wednesday ( Wednesday August 20)
” The suspension of the Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB Mrs Grace Adagba,for a period of one month effective today.
” The immediate suspension of the Executive Secretary of the Benue state Lottery Commission Michael Uper for a period of one month” the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary stated.
In an interactive session with the media after plenary, on Thursday, the Chairman ,House Committee on Information Alfred Berger, informed that the Lawmakers rejected the nomination of two person, including Prof Ornguga.
According to him, there are about four strong petitions against the Law Professor mostly from his erstwhile students at the Benue state University.
Professor Ornguga ,the House noted, was also rejected for not having a Primary 6 certificate.
The House spokesperson explained Prof Ornguga and another nominee, James Dwen, could not convincingly debunk the charges contained in the various petitions against them .
Subsequently, the House ,Berger added has asked Governor Alia to forward replacements for the two rejected nominees .
However ,in his defence ,when confronted with petitions against him , particularly the one dwelling on his alleged tampering of the results of a student, Prof Ornguga while insisting on his innocence, blamed the Dean of Faculty of Law of the University for the alteration
His blame game, coupled with his inability to explain the absence of the First School Leaving Certificate in his comprehensive resume ,was said to have forced the legislators to reject his nomination.
Discover more from The Source
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
