At a thanksgiving service organised to conclude the weeklong inauguration activities in Benue, the state governor, Samuel Ortom, said that in the government house, he will not tolerate womanising, drinking or wild parties.

The thanksgiving service took place at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mega Parish, in Makurdi,the state capital.

Ortom said that even though the ex-governor Gabriel Suswam said that he left behind a N9.3 billion debt, he will still check the handover notes because the figure did not reflect the arrears of salaries, allowances, retirement benefits, as well as commitments to contractors and other obligations.

The Governor promised to fight corruption and block all conduit pipes so that he could conserve funds to develop the state and meet its financial obligations.

Suswam who defected to the APC just hours before the party’s governorship primary and ended up picking the party’s ticket after losing that of his former party, PDP, said he was happy about the rejection from the PDP. According to him, the rejection of him and Sen. Barnabas Gemade in the PDP drove them into the bosom of Senator George Akume, who he said paved the way for what they had become today. (Gemade retained his Senate seat under the APC after losing the PDP primary ticket to then governor Gabriel Suswam).

The Governor pledged that the security of lives and property had to be given priority attention in order for his administration to fulfill its promise to provide a conducive environment for the private sector to drive the economy of the state as has become the global practice.

He promised to govern with the fear of God, which he said shall entrench core values that would make development inevitable even as he solicited sustained prayers and support so as to enable the state surmount its current challenges.

He said his victory was a demonstration of the efficacy of prayers and the fact that God ruled in the affairs of men.

Among those who attended the thanksgiving Senators Akume and Gemade, the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Chief Steve Lawani, other elected representatives at the state and national levels, captains of industry, academics, religious leaders and politicians.