By Citizenship Daily
A group, Benue Advocacy Network, BAN has taken a swipe on the State Governor Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia for his alleged lackadaisical attitude towards security of the State.
Addressing newsmen in Makurdi on Friday, leader of the group Enoch Bemshima Ortese outrightly condemned the Governor’s outing during Thursday’s media chat with TVC held at the Government House, Makurdi.
Ortese observed that the governor avoided discussing the most pressing issue that has become an existential threat to the people of Benue State.
He said Governor Alia deliberately refused to address the spate of insecurity perpetrated by armed groups, which has led to constant attacks on Benue communities, resulting in thousands being killed and communities being occupied believably by armed pastoralists.
“He (the Governor) was deliberately silent on the occupation of Benue communities by terrorists who have been deciding when and where the people can move.
“Even when Governor Alia reluctantly mentioned the critical issue of insecurity, which is currently affecting about 19 out of the 23 local governments in Benue State, he merely rationalized and defended the nomadic cattle herders by making inappropriate references to the ECOWAS Protocol, claiming it provides legal protection for pastoralists to move freely in and out of territories. As he has often done, the governor described the issue of insecurity as “skirmishes.”
“His false claims prompted an erudite son of Benue State, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Sebastine Hon, to issue a statement correcting the wrong impression created by Governor Alia’s comments regarding the transhumance of livestock within ECOWAS member countries. We refer the governor to Prof. Hon’s patriotic article, which is in the public domain.
“It would have been interesting to hear Governor Alia provide reasons for the abandonment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017, which was enacted by the previous government with the support of the Benue people.
“This law was very effective in tackling the herdsmen menace until the current government took office.”
The group also frowned at the continuous corruption allegation leveled against his predecessor Samuel Ortom, noting that the Alia’s administration had constituted two probe panels to probe the Ortom’s administration, urging him to publish probe panel reports that indict Chief Samuel Ortom’s administration.
“Governor Alia has set probe panels against the previous government, so we expect his probe panels to publish their reports to support the accusations he has been making against the immediate past government,” the group said.
It further urged the governor to inform the people about the huge federal allocations received since May 29, 2023, adding that the allocations have multiplied four times since then.
“The Alia administration has not informed the people of Benue that since May 2023, when President Tinubu approved the removal of the fuel subsidy, Benue, like other states, has been receiving federal allocations four times higher than those received by the previous government.
“The current government should stop sounding as if it brought some magic wand to pay salaries promptly.
“No state in the country today owes salaries, pensions and gratuities. Before the Alia administration took over, 28 states in the country could not pay salaries because meager resources at their disposal did not permit them to do so.
“The reverse is the case today with the Tinubu money windfall. All other states have since cleared the arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities, except Benue State.” the group said.
