By Benue Youth Watch
26th June, 2024
Despite painting a picture of turning Benue into a haven of development projects, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has failed to commission a single project in any of the Federal Constituencies he toured after ruling the state for one year.
The thank you tour which was clothed with derogatory language, name calling and blame games exposed the emptiness of the administration as having done nothing substantial for Benue state in the last one year which many believed was used for political witchunt, vendetta, instigation, and shameless blackmail, exposing a lack of clear cut direction and capacity to govern on the part of Governor Alia.
The verbal outburst filled with uncharitable words against critical stakeholders clearly cancelled all electioneering promises of the 2023 campaigns of the governor. In their place, new promises were made across the state to hoodwink the Benue people whom he erroneously believes are highly gullible. This is signalling another year of endless wait for life transforming projects by the people.
READ ALSO
Stakeholders, party officials shun Alia’s visit to Ado, Okpokwu, Ogbadibo LGAs
25 best ways to make your Marriage successful
Group Calls on NBA to Act Against Lawyers Targeting Benue Chief Judge Ikpambese
50 persons trapped in Makurdi flood
Exposing Corruption: Investigating BIPC During Gov Alia’s Tenure
Internally Displaced Persons still wallow in want of basic needs even though he promised to resettle them within his first hundred days in office. In the education sector, there is no school being built anywhere in the state by the governor, he has neither built nor rehabilitated any hospital in the period under review. Arrears of pensions and salaries which he attempts to make so much political capital from, are still staring the people in their faces. Similarly, there is no single electricity project he has initiated anywhere in the state in the last one year.
Instead, there are two wasteful underpasses which are not set to address any Immediate economic problem in Benue state but have in the interim, constituted huge environmental problems for residents as can be seen in the recent flooding of high level settlement, which has never been flooded in the history of Makurdi.
The only programme of note which governor Alia bragged about in all the federal constituencies he has visited is the purchase of 100 refurbished buses which is part of palliative support from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Many state governments in Nigeria used the pallatiaves in areas of comparative advantages like Niger, which purchased over a hundred tractors and farm inputs to farmers. The thank you tour represents one of the many wasteful endeavours of the administration.
Governor Alia appears to be the only governor in Nigeria channeling billions of tax payers money in an unproductive tour of his state in the face of the present economic hardship where many citizens can barely feed. Instead, economic activities at the local government levels were forcefully grounded in an attempt to compell traders to cover for empty spaces at some of the venues.
In Gboko Local Government Area for instance, traders in the ancient town which serves the entire Tiv nation lost hundreds of millions to the forceful closure of the market and hoodlums who were sent to enforce the closure.
The most worrisome decimal is the governors verbal attacks on members of the National Assembly and federal appointees from Benue state who have endeared themselves to the people by effectively representing the insterest of the state. By the combined efforts of these representatives, the federal government has more projects ongoing in Benue state than Governor Alia in terms of number and financial commitment!
Arrival of workers and equipment has commenced for the construction of a dual carriage bridge across River Katsina-Ala at the Buruku crossing point. This project too the governor shamelessly attempted to take credit to cover for the absence of outstanding projects in the state.
The Benue state Fashion Hub Project is nearing completion.
Work is ongoing on the Makurdi-Otukpo-Ninth Mile Road, and the Makurdi-Gboko-Ugbema-Katsina-Ala road.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr Prof. Joseph Utsev recently announced the multi billion naira Amelladu Water project beginning from Buruku-Amelladu-Gboko town-Ushongo as well as a dam to reticulate water in Tarka LGA and many other projects aimed at having direct impact on the citizenry.
Apart from visiting his constituents to distribute farm inputs to boost food production, Senator Representing Benue North West, Titus Zam has stepped in for the people of Benue state by presenting Open Grazing Prohibition Bill at the Senate looking towards a permanent solution to the farmers herders crisis in the state. It is a bold step ahead of Governor Alia’s deliberate meekness which has seen the failure to enforce the existing law in the state which clandestinely attempted to repeal. This has led to sustained killing and destruction in the state with the governor often accusing Benue people for the unfortunate killings.
Members of the National Assembly from Benue state have been vocal on the floor of their various chambers in defense of the security and welfare of the people of Benue state. There are constituency projects of different kinds across the state. How then should governor Alia whose main duty as governor is to protect lives and property be at logger heads with people who are working for the common good of the people? Whose interest is the governor serving?
Benue people are shocked by the use of vulgar and and uncouth language by the governor given his background and position as an example to emerging generations.
Governor Alia should rededicate himself to the task of building and uniting Benue state. He should consider every part of the state an equal partner in the development of the state and work together with Benue representatives at the federal level, major stakeholders for the greater good of the state.
