Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume has urged the Benue State Governor, Reverend Hyacinth Alia, to focus on delivering governance to the people and not bother about him.
He stated this through his Special Adviser on Public Affair, Terrence Kuanum, in response to the Governor’s statement suggesting Akume is distracting his government and he Akume has not done anything for the State.
According to the statement, Akume charged the Governor to use the huge Federal allocations to drive development in the state and stop distracting himself with the friends he, Akume, makes and those he associates with.
The statement reads: “We have read again in the media another piece from the office of the Governor of Benue State, His Excellency Revd. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary accusing the person of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) His Excellency Senator George Akume of a litany of sins, both past and present, against our dear beloved Benue.
“The governor holds that SGF Akume has been working against the people of Benue State in several ways including installing governors and supporting them to maladminister the state, and then falling out with them over disagreements arising from sharing the state’s commonwealth.
“The governor tends to suggest that even currently he is having the same problem with the SGF.
“But pointedly, Governor Alia has demanded that “If Akume truly cares for Benue and the people, he must do well to reconsider his unholy alliance with Ortom.”, as such relationship and others amount to “regrouping against (his (Alia’s) leadership that prioritizes the masses”.
“Unfortunately, the governor addresses the SGF in shockingly indecent language and direct insults, referring to him once again as “mad”.
“But in strict compliance with SGF’s directives, we answer with a further call for de-escalation of tensions and an appeal to reason over the passions of anger and fear which run through the piece.
“Governor Alia should have nothing to fear so long as he is on the track of working to deliver creditably well on the mandate that the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the leadership of SGF Akume won for him at the 2023 elections.
“The governor’s only fear should be a failure to judiciously apply the unprecedented huge resources being pumped into the coffers of the state regularly through the post subsidy removal initiatives of the administration of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Since its creation in 1976, Benue State has never had it so good in terms of resource availability for projects execution, and it is the position of the SGF that this development calls for calm, level headedness and visionary focus on the part of the governor for him to be able to apply the windfall to deep and far reaching projects capable of stimulating value and empowerment opportunities for the people.
“The vision of President Tinubu for a post subsidy removal Nigeria is to channel resources for development right down to the grassroots of the country through increased allocations to the states and the local governments.
“It is in line with this vision that Mr. President is relentlessly pushing measures for full financial autonomy to local government councils in order to safeguard the huge resources being allocated towards the transformation of the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“The vision of the APC sponsored Tinubu administration over Nigeria is one so serious that no state governor under it should have time for such frivolities as being engrossed with who the SGF is sitting down with or attending public functions with.
“The SGF as a father figure in the politics of, not just Benue State but North Central and Nigeria at large, may reconcile and mend fences with erstwhile political opponents, as well as cultivate new relationships, all geared to boosting the acceptability and grounding of the APC and the Tinubu administration nationwide.
“SGF Akume as Number 3 in the hierarchy of the Executive arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria, in anchoring the performance drive of the Tinubu administration, works to ensure that development projects and empowerment opportunities are shared out fairly to the various component parts of the country.
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“This includes Benue State where there are presently ongoing federal funded projects including the dualisation of the Makurdi – Enugu Federal Highway, the bridge over River Benue at Buruku and several others with more to come in the new fiscal year.
“There are also the numerous top graded federal appointments given to Benue sons and daughters through the influence of the SGF.
“He cannot, therefore, be said to be having problems with anyone over sharing the state’s resources. If there may be any problem in Benue State presently over the issue of resources, then it should be how to apply them in the quantum that is available to development projects and empowerment of the people, not sharing it with SGF Akume.
“We urge Governor Alia to focus on delivering dividends of good governance to the people of Benue State using the huge resources available to his administration, to keep APC on the winning run heading to the next election year.
“The governor need not fear anything in the relationships that the SGF is building with anyone, as ultimately those will be to the advantage of APC which is the governor’s sponsoring platform and the party that cares and means well for the state more than any other.”
