POLITICS
Alia’s Acceptance Speech as Benue Governor-elect
A VICTORY SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, REV. FR. DR. HYACINTH IORMEM ALIA, GOVERNOR-ELECT OF BENUE STATE, MARKING HIS VICTORY IN THE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION IN BENUE STATE, HELD ON
MARCH 18, 2023
Protocol,
My beloved fellow citizens of Benue State,I stand before you today as the duly elected Governor of Benue state.
My victory was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a few hours ago.
The long and anxious wait for the results to be officially declared is over; we can now roll out the drums in celebration of this great victory.
I recognize what an enormous privilege and honor it is to be trusted with the government of the State especially at this time and am deeply conscious of it.
I would like to say that God does not call the qualified! He qualifies the called.I may not be the most qualified Benue son to lead the State at this
time but the Good Lord who has called me will qualify me.
Never in my life have I seen a people express their desires and wishes so passionately as I saw from you in this election.
The volunteers who came together under various support groups; those who travelled to all nooks and crannies of our State to knock on doors; the poll watchers who stayed vigilant to ensure that our votes were counted; every one of you! You all are the true heroes of this victory, and your names will be written in gold in the annals of our State.
It has been a remarkable and historic victory for our Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). I am in no doubt at all about the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead and what this victory means in the face of these challenges.
My dear people, this victory belongs to you. It belongs to all of you who thirst for the dividends of democracy. And by this victory, the liberation we have all yearned for is at hand.
Change is coming to Benue State!! I take this opportunity to appreciate the Leader of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue state, Senator Dr George Akume, who has remained strong like the Rock of Gibraltar and guided us along the path to this happy moment.
I appreciate the State Working Committee of the Party under the leadership of the ebullient Comrade Austin Agada, as well as the other organs and critical stakeholders of the Party for their resilience and resourcefulness.(Let’s give a big round of applause to all APC members….APC!!)
I doff my hat for the most hardworking and ingenious campaign team ever assembled in the political history of Benue State led by the Director General, Rev Dr. Frederick Ikyaan. They represent the building blocks to this victory.
I am grateful for the friendship and support of my running mate, Barrister Sam Ode. He has worked so hard on the campaign trail, and I look forward to fruitful collaboration with him in Government House.
I would like to congratulate my opponents from the other parties for making it an interesting contest. BUT the anxious period of politicking is over. Now is the time to unite and face the challenges of development.
Our State, Benue, needs a total reset! Governance in our State has hit a historic low. This election is a mandate to reform and recalibrate governance in Benue.
We need all hands, all good and ready hands, to be on deck. We need men and women whom
the spoils of office cannot buy. We need all who believe that a new
Benue is possible.
I believe there is an even greater obligation on me, in fact on us all, to tell the Benue people very clearly the difficult choices and challenges that we face and how we will work our way through them.
We will clear the backlog of arrears of salaries, and pensions and
gratuities, resettle our IDPs in their ancestral homes, address persistent insecurity challenges and set the stage for a prosperous Benue.
We need to set the foundations for a strong economy. And on top of
that, we need to start building an economy of the future based on skills and talents and education and the application of technology; knowing that the forces of global competition and technology mean that we can only compete based on skills and talents. Let us unlock our wealth!
My fellow citizens, a new Benue is possible, and I enjoin all of you to join hands with me to make it a reality.
Let us begin by embracing a new way of thinking and action – by cultivating a new ethos that expresses the best of us, that brings forth our better angels and not our worst demons.
The smallness of unending political recriminations and willful economic sabotage must give way to accommodation and the pursuit of loftierideals.
There is a lot we can achieve through consensus and synergy. Our points of difference cannot be greater than the things that unite us.
Let us resolve, walk and work together as one people united by a common destiny.We the people of Benue, through this victory, have taken a new step in a new direction.
We have voted to realize the vision of their founding fathers
– the vision of a peaceful and buoyant society where both indigene and settler, the rich and the not-so-rich will engage in the pursuit of happiness unhindered.
We have voted to defeat the politics of backwardness, hate and division, in preference for a social contract that enhances our common
brotherhood and adds value to lives.
Let the word go out to the wretched of the earth in our hinterlands – the poor farmer in Sankera, the palm wine tapper in Otukpa, the petty trader at Abinsi, the rice farmer in Gwer-West, and the artisan in Gboko, that through this election, a new dawn has broken in Benue – a new dawn of equal opportunity and shared prosperity.
And let the word go out to all the ends of the earth, that a people, through this election, have risen from the ashes of deprivation and depression and are marching in lockstep towards their rightful place in the hall of greatness.
As we get set to begin the arduous task of rebuilding our state, May the God of all Goodness, who has answered our cry for freedom today, fortify us with the strength and wisdom to succeed.
God bless you all. And may God Bless the new Benue of our dreams!
Thank you all!
Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, PhD,
Governor-Elect,
Benue State.
POLITICS
Poverty, Behind Deadly Stampedes Across Nigeria, says Falana
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday attributed the deadly stampede that claimedmore than 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.
”In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond ASCAB, demanded justice for victims of the tragic events, saying, “These tragic events are a national shame, the victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.
”On December 21, 12 people died and 32 others were injured in Okija, Anambra State, during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist.
On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.
Just two days prior, on December 19, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas funfair at an Islamic High School, Basorun. in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana lamented.
“It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”
Falana also criticized the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events, stating, “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” and condemned what he termed “class prejudice” in the distribution of humanitarian aid.
He also announced plans to mobilize lawyers to pursue civil suits against the organizers of these events.
“We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana affirmed. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”
POLITICS
2025 budget: LP Chieftain Lauds Tinubu for Diving Priority to Security, Others
Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) ,has commended President Bola Tinubu for giving priority to security and other key sectors in the 2025 Appropriation Bill .
Olorunfemi gave the commendation while speaking with newsmeon Thursday in Lagos.
NAN reports that the President had on Wednesday presented the N47.
9 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill , christened “Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity” , to a joint session of the National Assembly .The President listed highlights of the 2025 budget allocations to include: defense and security: N4.91 trillion; infrastructure: N4.06 trillion; Health: N2.
48 trillion and Education: N3.52 trillion.Reacting , Olorunfemi described security as an enabler of development.
He called on the President to ensure proper implementation ,saying budgets had always been well-crafted but usually lacked monitoring and implementation.
“There is nothing that can happen if there is no security. This is good if the budget is properly utilised for the purpose.
“Our problem is not about policies and budgets, it is about monitoring and implementation.
“There is nothing wrong in bringing a budget proposal forward in terms of expectation, what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much we want to spend.
“Now, the most important thing is the implementation,, budgets in Nigeria have always been properly crafted,” the LP boss said.
Olorunfemi called on the President to build strong institutions to prevent sabotaging of his policies.
“If this government wants to do anything, it must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring policies and ensure severe penalty for anyone who attempts to sabotage such policies.
“We need institutions that no one will be able to interfere with. We must allow these institutions to work, that is what we expect.
“Once we have strong institutions, most of our problems are solved,” he said.
He also called on the President to take steps to address the problems experienced by Nigerians in the banking sector.
Olorunfemi decried the inability of many Nigerians to get cash at bank’s Automated Teller Machines and the high charges paid to get cash from Point of Sales (POS) operators.
The LP boss also urged the President to devise ways of ending multiple taxations and high fuel price, describing them as major causes of hardship .
Recalled that the President said that the budget was a demonstration of government’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives and repositioning the country for greater performance.
He also said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies instituted to restructure the economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments and bolster oil and gas production. (NAN)
POLITICS
Atiku hails Ndimi’s Oriental Energy on commissioning of first FPSO
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
The former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP Presidential flag bearer in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar has congratulated the Chairman of the Nigerian Independent producer, Oriental Energy Resources (OER), Muhammadu Indimi, on the successful completion and commissioning of the Okwok Field’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel/platform in Dubai.
In a statement in Abuja by his Media Office in Abuja on Wednesday, the Former Vice President described the commissioning of the FPSO as one of the most gladdening news coming out from the upstream subsector of Nigeria’s oil industry in recent times.
“The vessel’s deployment at the Okwok field is expected to significantly increase Nigeria’s crude oil output, contributing to the government’s revenue growth and economic development objectives,” he said.
According to Atiku, “This is the first FPSO entirely funded by an indigenous Nigerian company and this landmark achievement being championed by OER showcases the rising capability of Nigerian firms in conceptualising and successfully executing complex projects in the nation’s upstream oil industry.
The successful building and commissioning of the FPSO marks a significant step toward enabling an indigenous oil and gas company to independently develop a marginal oil field.
This development marks an important milestone for Nigeria and its indigenous energy sector, he said.
“No doubt, this latest investment would boost economic growth, generate job opportunities for Nigerians, and ensure steady growth and development of not only the oil sector but the nation’s economy in general.”
He described Indimi as a man who so much believes in the capabilities that exist in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“From onset of his foray into the nation’s oil sector, his vision of standing out as a player of reckon in the nation’s upstream oil business has been top-notch,” he said.
As he said, Oriental Energy’s significant investment in the oil sector has set a new standard in local investment and operational excellence in the nation’s oil business, benefiting both the company and its partners.
The 40,000 barrels per day capacity facility constructed by the Singaporean firm HBA Future Energy will commence sailing to Nigerian waters beginning February 2025 for hook-up on the Okwok Oil Field. Production is expected to commence on the oil field in the first half of next year.
Okwok Oil Field, discovered by ExxonMobil in 1967, is located in Oil Mining Lease(OML) 67, in 31 metres water depth in shallow marine, southeast offshore Nigeria with estimated recoverable reserves of 45 million barrels. OER has an ongoing multi-well drilling campaign on the field that commenced in October 2023.