…Benue won’t vote failure in 2027!
One of the main issues during the campaigns for the 2023 Benue State governorship was security. Hyacinth Alia, a suspended priest of the Catholic Church, was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Alia missed no opportunity to mount the podium and castigate his opponents, telling voters how easy it would be to solve the security problems of the state, among other challenges.
Alia made the issue of security sound as simple as merely recruiting gatemen and guards to watch over a parish house. He even described it as algorithms that he claimed were “quite simple.”
Alia frequently listed an avalanche of promises he would fulfill if elected as governor. He assured the internally displaced people that within his first 100 days in office, he would return them to their ancestral homelands.
Alia also heavily criticized his opponents, particularly the then-governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, whom the priest-turned-politician accused of exploiting the security situation to “cash out.” He stated that within a short time of his ascendance to power, he would end insecurity in all parts of Benue State and transform it into a paradise. The people believed Alia and voted for him.
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Soon after he became governor, Alia invited the Fulani to return to the state for what he called “integration and peaceful coexistence.” The Fulani returned en masse with their cows and sophisticated guns slung over their shoulders. In no time, wailing began in different parts of Benue State. However, Alia quickly came out to defend the Fulani against any blame. He, in turn, accused his own people of being the aggressors who were rustling Fulani cattle.
Today, Benue has become an abattoir flowing with the blood of innocent people from the state. Alia’s allies—the Fulani who sponsored his election with N7 billion after he took an oath to protect them—are on a rampage, slitting the throats of any Benue person in sight.
Governor Alia is under oath never to mention the name of the Fulani! He dares not speak against his sponsors and voodoo masters; otherwise, he will lose everything. The oath he took is tied in very strong terms, suggesting that the more blood of Benue people the Fulani spill, the more powerful Alia becomes. He is under such a delusion.
Alia has also amassed significant wealth during his two years in office. Since May 2023, when President Bola Tinubu removed oil subsidy, the Benue State Government has been receiving funds four times more than before. But Alia has refused to clear the backlog of salaries and pensions, which other state governors have since addressed under Tinubu’s naira windfall.
The people of Benue are growing angry and agitated against Governor Alia! He has failed the people. He is solely focused on himself and doesn’t care if the people perish. The anger is rising among the populace.
Alia has refused to visit any of the areas where the Fulani have attacked and killed people. He dismisses such claims. He is more interested in taking over party structures from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. Alia is also more concerned with removing the State Chief Judge to gain control over local government funds.
No wonder the church suspended this impostor on two occasions! Alia has disgraced the priesthood! His colleagues in the priesthood are also feeling the shame. That is why many of them, including bishops, have distanced themselves from his government of treachery and mendacity. Alia is out to tarnish the image of the Church.
Read: Herders’ attacks: Tension in Ondo communities as Amotekun plans counter-operations
Now that Governor Alia has failed the people, what is expected of him is to admit his failure; apologize to the people; and prepare to leave power in 2027! Benue won’t consolidate failure!
Signed:
Dennis Agema
President
Network for Transparent Governance (NTG)
Oliver Omenka
Secretary General
