By Prince Tyodoo Livinus
I read a write-up by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, Kula Tersoo who claimed unconvincingly that his principal’s “prudent management of resources and openness in governance have been acknowledged by various monitoring organisations”. Kula went on to name BudgIT as one of the organizations which have acknowledged the transparency and accountability disposition of his boss. He cited what he referred to as BudgIT’s current release of Q3 2024 States Fiscal Transparency League Table, which he claimed “Benue has moved to 9th position from the 35 & 36 positions it had consistently shuffled since 2015.”
Governor Alia’s media aide however did not make any reference to BudgIT’s data in the last 19 months (May 2023 to December 2024) which showed that following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, Benue State under Alia has received nearly N400 billion monthly allocations from the federation’s account for the state and local governments.
I was hoping to read Kula give a breakdown of how much the Alia government has received per month from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and what has been done with the funds. That is transparency! That is accountability!
The piece by Governor Alia’s media man was also laden with falsehood and half truths. For instance, Kula claimed that Benue under his boss “has not borrowed any funds since the inception of the Alia administration”. But we recall that in August this year, Governor Alia, through his Deputy Samuel Ode, announced that the state had secured N93 billion to tackle insecurity and infrastructural development in the state (see Punch newspaper of 1st August, 2024).
Later that month (August), there was a report in nearly all major newspapers that 21 states of the federation were seeking loans amounting to N1.65 trillion to fund their 2024 budget deficits despite the increase in the allocations they have been receiving from FAAC. The report pointedly mentioned Benue led by Governor Hyacinth Alia as one the 21 states. Benue State was reported to be seeking a loan of N34.69 billion! It is reported that the state has since received the loan.
The Alia administration had earlier announced that it had secured a €25 million (N40.4 billion) loan from the European Investment Bank, for “road construction”.
I am shocked that Kula, the chief press secretary to Governor Alia, is not aware of all these happenings within the government of his principal and has hastily jumped to imaginary drum beats with hysteria to sing the praises of his boss over what he has not done.
For the sake of those who may not be aware, what Governor Alia is today celebrating as debt reduction is purely the effort and handiwork of the immediate past Governor Samuel Ortom who took very proactive steps to lift the debt burden of the state which he inherited from his predecessor, so as to make things easier for his successor.
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In his handover speech on the 28 of May, 2023, Chief Ortom stated unequivocally that though the debt situation of the Benue State Government had stood at N187.56 billion, his administration had earlier taken proactive steps to negotiate and ensure significant debt reliefs leading to Debt Swap Between Benue State and Federal Government, as facilitated by the Nigerian Governors Forum. The then Governor said the Debt Swap for State and Local Government Councils in the state stood at N71.6 billion at the time he was leaving office.
His Excellency Ortom went further to say that the sources of income Benue State was expecting at the time he was leaving office were: (a) Backlog of accumulated Stamp Duties – N48 billion, (b) Refund from Debt Swap with Federal Government – N22.95 billion. Total = N70.95 billion. With the negotiated debt swap and the expected inflows discounted, the State was poised to attain a major debt reduction, bringing down its debt profile to N45.2 billion.
Chief Ortom also stated that owing to the efforts of his administration, Benue State as at May 29, 2023, had outstanding approvals awaiting disbursement from the Federal Government including the balance of bailout – N41 billion and a N20 billion Central Bank of Nigeria facility. At the same time, the Benue State government was expecting N9 billion as refund on withdrawals for subsidy and SURE-P.
I gathered that the Alia administration has already received most of these funds which the Ortom administration fought hard to get for the state.
I am a witness to the fact that the Ortom administration also initiated a lasting solution to the problem of pensions by domesticating the Federal Government reforms in pension administration through the Benue State Pension Law, 2019 which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme.
As at May 28, 2023, records at the Benue State Pension Commission showed that the Ortom administration met most of the requirements for full implementation status of the Contributory Pension Scheme. At the time Governor Ortom was exiting office, over N8 billion had been saved under the Scheme and Benue State was on the threshold of meeting the conditions for benefitting from the Contributory Pension Scheme including access to long-term loans and bonds for development projects or defraying existing pension liabilities.
I, like other concerned Benue people, expect the Alia administration to desist from distorting facts just to look good in the eyes of the public. Governor Alia and his team should be telling Benue people how much has come into the state in the last one year and seven months and what they are doing with the money.
* Prince Tyodoo writes from Zaki-Biam, Ukum LGA, Benue State.
