From Attah Ede Makurdi 

Governor Hyicenth Alia of Benue State, on Monday, said the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, is in a hurry to partner with mischief makers to distract him from developing the State..

Alia who spoke through his press secretary Tersoo Kula in a press statement he issued and made available to newsmen in Makurdi, accused the main opposition party of relying on the stakeholders’ report to demand and account of the imaginary 44 billion naira from the Alia administration, saying the government is not deterred by such antics.

He said Governor Alia has a renewable mandate of four full years and he has set the machinery in place to leave Benue better and greater than he met it, stressing that those distracting the governor are the true enemies of the state and the masses would place them correctly at the right time.

The ruling APC stakeholders and the State Executive Committee on Sunday held a congress meeting at the residence of the secretary to government of the federation (SGF), senator George Akume after the police prevented the party from holding such meeting in the State following governor Alia directives.

However, sir Tersoo Kula explained that the meeting which came in the phase of a ban on political gatherings, fell short of all requirements for a party meeting of such magnitude, where the party has a sitting governor who is their leader and must be part of the agenda for the meeting.

“In the said report, speakers after speakers were quoted to have, in their news found impudent berated His Excellency, Gov. Hyacinth Iormem Alia in all possible demeaning words, accusing him of mismanaging a ghost sum of 44 billion naira given to Benue state, aside federal allocations hence, the need to throw light on this false information.

“It is sad that this set 1999 party stakeholders are so used to Benue state government funds to an extent that once they are denied access, they can go to any length to bring down any serving governor. If not for mischief purposes, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio who recently made the spurious allegation that state governors were given 30 billion each has since apologized to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Oyo State Governor has equally cleared the air that nothing of sort ever happened.

“But in an attempt to give Gov. Alia a bad name so as to hang him, the stakeholders who are fully aware of these facts still went public repeating the same lie. Gov. Alia has never hidden any funds released to his administration. When the 2 billion, out of the 5 billion palliatives support was given to Benue, His Excellency was among the first governors to announce receipt of the money; he went ahead and gave an expenditure account, covering the purchase of new buses at Benue Links and fertilizer to farmers.

“It is worrisome that this group of stakeholders have stood in the way of Benue progress for a long time, preferring party politics to governance such that once elections are over, they would distract the winners until they are frustrated to leave the party and pave way for them to start feasting on new aspirants. To them, you are good only when you are contesting elections.

“It was this same group that saw Gov. Alia as the only messiah to give them victory in the 2023 with majority of them clinging on the Alia effect and popularity to win their elections”, Sir Kula explained.

He maintained that despite the series of distractions and unfounded allegations, the Alia administration has a pact, first with the Benue masses who happily voted him to power, hence the administration is doing its best to fulfil the yearnings of the people who are daily, passing vote of confidence in the the governor and his government.

The cps noted that past governors who served the interest of stakeholders in Benue only left the state highly impoverished and starved of basic developments.

“Yesterday’s meeting has exposed a lot of hypocrisy around the clique of 1999 stakeholders in Benue and their unrepentant quest to see the Alia administration fail.

” They praised Mr. President for projects in Benue, praised the Vice President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and even the suspended State Chairman of the party but could not see a single project from the Alia administration to commend however, we know quite clearly that development to them is holding of juicy positions and amassing wealth.

“By holding a political meeting against a state order in the Makurdi residence of Sen. George Akume who is himself a former governor, the SGF has again exposed himself as one who is beating the drums of war for the stakeholders to have an affront on the governor; this is highly unpatriotic and condemnable”, he alluded.