Corruption of monumental proportions is currently taking place at the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, BIPC under the watch of Governor Hyacinth Alia who is using his kinsman Raymond Asemakaha, the Managing Director of BIPC to perpetrate the fleece.
In the last few weeks, Governor Alia has authorized the sale of BIPC shares in the equities market worth N6 billion without the Board of the company in place and without the approval of the Benue State Executive Council. The latest of such share sales took place on Friday, the 12th of April, 2024.
With the shocking revelations coming from BIPC, it is becoming increasingly clear why Governor Alia hurriedly dissolved the company’s board and insisted on making a relation of his (Asemakaha) the MD of the investment company.
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The Benue governor’s conduct is in gross violation of the law establishing BIPC which forbids a governor from unilaterally divesting the state holdings managed by the company without due process.
A similar development when Benue State shares in Julius Berger worth over N3 billion were sold by the Gabriel Suswam government attracted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, a matter that is still in court.
Governor Alia is not new to controversies surrounding his handling of state resources. In less than 8 months in office, the governor was petitioned by two reputable civil society groups over the embezzlement of N46 billion of state funds and N20 billion of local government allocations.
The reported sale of N6 billion state shares is one of the stories that will shock many Benue people, particularly in view of the fact that the state is receiving huge allocations since June 2023, following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
