Following the release of ₦130 million for staff allowances, promotion implementation and other welfare packages at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), a heated exchange erupted in the Benue Wisemen WhatsApp group. The Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Michael Oglegba, publicly challenged claims by Mr. Terver Akase, former Chief Press Secretary to ex-Governor Samuel Ortom, over the financial condition of the state’s tertiary institutions.
Akase had argued that there was little justification for celebrating the government’s intervention, insisting that during the Ortom administration, Benue State University (now Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi) operated under a first-line charge arrangement that guaranteed prompt payment of staff salaries and insulated the institution from industrial disputes.
Oglegba dismissed the argument, stating that it overlooked the severe financial obligations left behind by the previous administration. According to the commissioner, Governor Hyacinth Alia inherited a university burdened with unpaid salaries, years of pension and gratuity arrears, promotion backlogs and billions of naira in accumulated earned allowances. He maintained that if the financial system inherited by the present administration had been as effective as claimed, the government would not have encountered an institution struggling with outstanding obligations to both serving and retired workers.
The commissioner further revealed that beyond staff welfare, the university had experienced significant academic setbacks before the change of administration, including delayed graduations and prolonged gaps between convocation ceremonies. He said the Alia administration has since embarked on a deliberate programme of institutional recovery by implementing salary adjustments, clearing promotion arrears, paying outstanding entitlements and investing over ₦20 billion to restore the financial stability of Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi.
Oglegba also clarified that a recent industrial action by university workers was related to the implementation of a newly approved 40 per cent salary adjustment and other negotiated welfare issues, noting that the dispute had already been resolved through government engagement. He insisted that the ₦130 million approved for BSUTH staff benefits forms part of a broader policy aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery while ensuring improved welfare and career progression for workers.
“The focus of this administration is not propaganda but performance. Governor Hyacinth Alia inherited huge financial liabilities, and rather than complain, he has continued to clear outstanding obligations, improve workers’ welfare and restore confidence in public institutions,” Oglegba stated during the discussion.
