The Executive Chairman of Gwer-West Local Government Area of Benue State, Hon. Chief Ormin Torsar Victor, has responded to comments attributed to Senator Titus Tartenger Zam over an empowerment programme organised by his administration, insisting that motorcycles presented to traditional rulers were genuinely procured as part of the initiative.
In a statement, Hon. Victor said he would ordinarily have ignored the senator’s remarks because he was opposed to engaging public officials in social-media exchanges. He however noted that Zam, as a serving senator and indigene of Gwer-West, ought to have verified the facts before making public comments. “Senator Zam could simply have called me and asked: ‘Mr Chairman, what actually happened?’ I would have explained the circumstances,” Victor said.
The chairman explained that the motorcycles were procured under his administration’s empowerment programme and presented to traditional heads during the ceremony. According to him, the traditional rulers later requested security escort to move the motorcycles to the Ter Tyoshin Palace because night had fallen. He said no traditional ruler had, as of the time of his response, personally contacted him or the council to lodge a formal complaint confirming the allegations being circulated. He challenged anyone with contrary evidence to present it, stressing that governance should be based on facts rather than rumours. “Governance cannot be conducted on the basis of rumours. Rumour mongering is not a scorecard,” he said.
Hon. Victor also questioned the senator’s criticism in view of Zam’s previous public-service roles, including his tenure as chairman of Gwer-West Local Government and Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. He said public officials should be prepared to present their records to the people rather than rely on social-media exchanges. “It is easy to question another person’s intervention on social media. It is more constructive to place one’s own achievements, programmes and interventions before the people for assessment,” he said.
He further clarified that the Alia Ngulianga Empowerment Programme was designed to benefit the people of Tyoshin and was not intended for political loyalists alone. “If Senator Zam has questions concerning the programme, I welcome them. If he possesses evidence of wrongdoing, he should present it through the appropriate channels,” Victor said. He also called for claims concerning other intervention programmes, including alleged politically motivated scholarship schemes, to be supported by verifiable records. “The people deserve facts,” he added.
Hon. Victor maintained that his administration was open to scrutiny but would resist the circulation of unverified information. “I am not afraid of scrutiny. I welcome scrutiny,” he declared. He said his administration would remain focused on empowerment, security, infrastructure, water, electricity, roads and other grassroots interventions. “My scorecard will not be determined by social-media exchanges. It will ultimately be determined by the people of Gwer-West and by the impact of our administration’s programmes in their communities,” he said.
While responding firmly, Victor described Zam as his elder brother and said he had deliberately avoided making the disagreement personal. He urged the people of Gwer-West to demand evidence, scrutinise public claims and assess public officials based on their records. “Politics should be about ideas, service and development, not the destruction of relationships or the circulation of unverified information,” he said. He also urged Zam to contact him directly whenever he receives information concerning the council. “Call me. Ask me. Verify. Then speak,” he said.
He concluded by appealing for political competition based on ideas, records and service, saying, “There is enough room in Gwer-West for all of us to succeed. We may disagree politically, but we do not have to become enemies. Rumour mongering is not a scorecard. Service is.”
