October 24, (THEWILL) – Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Fidelis Mnyim, has said that Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration inherited a debt profile of over N14 billion as consent judgment from the immediate past administration of Samuel Ortom.
The Attorney General, who made the disclosure in Makurdi, on Tuesday, while playing host to members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), explained that on assumption of office, he discovered several garnishee orders from court cases by individuals and institutions.
According to him, on Monday, three garnishee orders were set aside but many others, which the Alia administration is not yet aware of, may arise again.
“At the twilight of the Governor Samuel Ortom administration, there were many garnishee orders that the government had attempted to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to settle.
“When we took over, many of such cases started coming up and in order to solve the problem, we went back to the drawing board and discussed with the lawyers handling the cases and those affected on how it can be resolved and payment will be made in instalment.
“The ugly situation of these garnishee orders most times affects many accounts of the government. Last month, we nearly could not pay salaries because of the effect of the garnishee orders,” he said.
The Commissioner said the administration is working tirelessly to sort out the issue, assuring that very soon, such will be cleared off.
He commended journalists for the role they have played in promoting government activities and urged them to ensure balanced and accurate reportage of activities in the State.
Earlier, the Chapel Chairman, Emmanuel Antswen, said members have come to seek partnership with the Commissioner on how best journalists can work in the State without breaches.
