A member of the House of Representatives, Terseer Ugbor, has engaged the services of a legal team to challenge the Benue state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, and the state government in court over allegations of palliative diversion.
A truck loaded with palliatives meant for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency of Benue State, which the lawmaker represents was recently intercepted in Makurdi, the state capital, by agents of the state on allegations that it was being diverted.
However, the lawmaker who denied the allegation said his legal team would examine the accusations and consider taking appropriate action to safeguard his image in order to set the record straight in the court of law.
Ugbor is suing the Alia government for alleged defamation of character and is requesting for N1 billion as compensation.
“While in the USA for the United Nations General Assembly at the invitation of the Presidency, I have learned that NEMA has approved additional palliatives for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency in response to my requests for more assistance,” Ugbor said, adding that it was all his initiatives for the needs of his people.
A statement earlier by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Tersoo Kula, had stated that the “truck was caught offloading relief materials meant for IDPs of the Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency at a private residence in Makurdi.”
It read in part, “It was later discovered that the goods were released from a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouse in Jos, and were supposed to be sponsored by the state government and lifted by the State Emergency Management Agency.”