The Technical Adviser to Benue State Governor on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication, Chief Solomon Terver Iorpev, spoke with our correspondent, Attah Ede in Makurdi. In this interview, Chief Iorpev who is also the Director General, Benue State Signage Agency, spoke about the governor Alia’s developmental strides, his 2027 reelection bid and other issues.

Excerpts.

How has been your experience working with the Governor as his technical adviser?

It is actually a privilege to start from where I am. In politics there is always a starting point. As you know my background, I have been in the media space for over two(2) decades now.

Working as a producer, studio manager, Editor as newscaster. When I left there to contest in 2022 for the House of Assembly to represent the good people of Konshisha, there was a gap. I saw that out of the 2 Constituency they had, one was missing. So, I was looking for an opportunity to restore it. I put everything aside to contest the seat but unfortunately, I did not win that election. In the course of that, I went back to Abuja where I continued with the act of anchoring events, media consultancy and all of that. I was invited by the Governor to serve in his government in a very high position. That big entry in political space, in public life as a public servant starting in an advisory capacity is not a mere feat. There are some who started as Principal Special Assistant, PSA, Senior Special Assistant, SSA or Special Adviser, SA but I had the privilege through the mercy of God and kindness of the Governor to start at that level as Technical Adviser, Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication.

It is quite a big role and huge responsibility because from the beginning of my service, I have played three roles as a Chief Executive of a state. It is an amazing opportunity where you only advise him on everything around media, but on Publicity as well as talk to him on issues of strategic Communication. It’s been quite an amazing experience for me not being within the space before. So, coming in as a new entrant, I had a lot to learn and of course, am still learning. I watched the political playground which was operating and saw a lot of turbulence and the still water within the space. It is quite an experience. Am excited that this opportunity is presented to me because in life we grow and whenever you see an opportunity to grow, you take it with both hands. As if that was not enough, just a few months into the office, His Excellency added another responsibility because I actually hold a Masters in Public Relations and Advertising so, when he noticed that in my CV, he said put all that together and see how you roll it into one. So, it has been a great experience and I am still experiencing it. If you work with His Excellency Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia and you don’t grow in leaps and bounds, then what brought you is different, that means you are here for amusement or just to take a walk. So, working with him in this space has taught me a lot of lessons. Am still learning and first of all, you have to be patient, determined, deliberate and focused. These four things you must learn them primarily as lessons working around the Governor and you have to think outside the box for every responsibility and assignment given to you because things are not as straight as they seemed. You have to dig around the corner to find your way around to be able to bring out the product that is acceptable.

What is that thing in you that has attracted the governor to offer you dual responsibilities in his government?

Its loyalty, capacity and capability. Governor Alia believes in very high standards and quality. For him to be referring to me is something. Remember, at one point, I acted as Chief Press Secretary to him for a month and 2 weeks. So, he gives you these responsibilities here and there to test your capability, resilience and ability to handle things. It is an exciting experience, I have come to meet people and learn how to work with them in this political space. And above all, I have learnt that loyalty can only be 100 percent which is an important thing in the political space.

Would you say he has fostered a good working environment for you and his other team to perform well?

Why not, the ID Card given to you is enough for you to excel. The pronouncement of an office is enough for you to excel. Someone said success in life is when opportunity meets preparedness. So, when you are given an opportunity to serve, it is an opportunity for you to excel. What else do you need if not an office to operate. His Excellency has given you a job and an office space to operate and has told you to do this and that. Difficulties come when your space is not defined, but when it is defined on what to do, opportunities and offices may not be the same but you have to use your head and navigate the waters. Working with him is an opportunity to learn. He is someone who does not believe that something must come to you on a platter of gold, you must find ways of carrying out your responsibility. It is part of a test of your capability and ability. For instance, as his adviser on media, I carry some of his protocols. Am his anchor man, his companion in terms of publicity because I handled all of that. Furthermore, strategic communication is part of what I do for him. I don’t just advise him on what should be done, I also do that for him when events hold. I do not have to wait for him to tell me what to do. I know what to do when a certain occasion arises. As Technical Adviser On Media and Publicity, I am also responsible for making sure that his publicity materials go out to everyone. His works are there for people to see and his books are there for people to read. Within this space, I have produced two books for him. I did the stradi of an unusual leader, the stroke of a silent achiever and am working on the rumbles of an accidental politician. These are things I do for him. I have ample space to operate. So, the environment I need is the office and once it is given to you, you define it. What is the capacity of the office and what can you do? You can do far beyond the capacity of the office. I know His Excellency is intentional, focused and is driven. Driven by the fact that this state has been backward for many years. Be driven by the fact that he has to lift the people up from poverty and missed opportunities and give them a level playing ground amongst the states that surround them. Other states were created out of Benue and look at where we are. Deficit infrastructural development, economic deficit, education deficit and even in civil service in practical every aspect. So, that kind of person around you moves you even without you moving yourself. He calls you at 2am and you are sleeping and he tells you that people are busy fixing the world and you are busy sleeping, you shouldn’t be doing that. The point is that people are trying to work to bring solutions to problems and you are busy sleeping, getting up and doing what you should do. The point is that, when you see someone working like that, you can’t relax. I come to work at 8am and close 11:30 pm every day. You see the results around me. He teaches you to create your own niche within your own space and be your own person and get your own shine. You don’t have the regular 9am-5pm like any other person. So, the space for me as a leader he is and with his style of leadership is good and great enough.

But there is this allegation that his team(appointees) are feeling disappointed because they do not have access to him and other things that could aid their jobs. How true is it? 

Disappointments are when the expectations are too far from reality. And I must say this, that from the beginning, the Governor because of the drive to raise the next generation of leaders has brought people most of them are not experienced within the government space. He is raising a crop of leaders for the next generation which is the right thing to do. There are things they should know and we have done training and retraining on how to be effective in your office. Inaccessibility is not the right word. He says you are not pushing harder. You are expected at your level to push harder. You should fight to get things done. Laziness does not produce anything. You don’t sit in your office, cross your leg and expect things to be done.

Are you saying that other appointees are lazy and that is why they could not get access to the governor?

No, not at all. Noone working with Father Alia is lazy. But what you should know is that, there is a little piece of cake on the table and everyone is scrambling for it, why are you sitting and crossing your legs expecting your share would be brought to you. There are limited resources and many ministries, Departments and Agencies. MDAs and you are sitting in the comfort of your house expecting the Governor to call you to come and take a piece of cake. You should go out there and do what you are supposed to do. The Governor is available for his staff via telephone, he picks the calls of his appointees when he should pick them. Text messages, he reads anything that is printed. If you send him a text, he reads and responds to it. His office hours. People talk about inaccessibility because they want to access at the wrong time. He will tell you that you are bringing the right information at the wrong time. There is a joke he will say, you are ambushing me, you know where to find me. You don’t want to meet the Governor in his rest place, the man is human. As Governor do you know the burden he carries. If the Governor’s phone does not work, it dials every 30 minutes because it buzzes 24/7 as everyone wants his attention. And the unfortunate thing that happen in the State I do not know if it applies in other states, somebody’s wife is pregnant they want the Governor to give them money to go to the hospital, someone’s son get admission to the university or someone sustains injury from Okada accident, he wants the Governor to give him money as ridiculous as it sounds am not joking. Even at my desk, I see the letters. This is a man that is placed at the international level and national. As he is attending to state matters, he is doing the same to national issues. The Presidency needs his attention and he is also traveling to get things for the state. For example, the overhead bridge (flyover) ongoing at Wurukum roundabout, was removed from the road construction because some people felt that it was not important. It took the Governor over six months going to Abuja to the Ministry of Works and Presidency until it was put back. These are the things you fight for your state. Look at ACRESAL, after paying 1 billion naira, you have to go and fight for it because other states are doing the same thing. If you do not do so, other states are ready to take it. There is something for the vulnerable he discovered and had to go for it. So, he keeps going to Abuja to get things for his people. And the President wants him to travel with him to an international conference. Inaccessibility comes that is not true representation.

But asking the Governor for assistance is part of governance. Or is there anything wrong in telling him to help you?

There is nothing wrong with that. But there are ridiculous levels you take it. Must it be the one as Governor to pay your school fees or your children’s school fees. You have senators, House of Representatives members, House of Assembly members and local government chairmen. What are they doing for you? So everything has to be the Governor, why?

Benue people are accusing your governor of not practicing inclusivity in governance bearing in mind that, there are three senatorial districts in the State. Why has he chosen to neglect the zone c axis in terms of appointments and infrastructural development?

There are no rules or regulations that says someone from Benue South Senatorial District or Zone C must head any parastatal or agencies for the government not to be biased. It does not speak to the bias of the Governor. Let’s begin with road infrastructure. Do you know that the Governor is constructing more roads in zone C than in any other parts of the State. Let’s talk about the Awajir-Oju road, it is about 53 km. The Utonkon road is about 48,49km. It is a long stretch. Let’s talk about the Naka-Agagbe-Agatu road, it is the longest in the State. The longest road in Zone A is Anhura in Vandeikya local government area which is about 34 kms. The road the Governor is doing is stone based. The roads he is doing in zone B is of necessity because this is the capital of the state. When you come into the State, it is more like an image of the state. The underpass in Otukpo has been awarded at the Enugu round about. The Governor is passionate about the health sector. You know Akpagede in Otukpo, the primary health care center is completed. You have Upu also in Otukpo the primary health center has been completed. There is one in Ipole Ohaje in Ogbadibo, Ondo in Agatu, Onuba also in Agatu. When some people talk about doing less projects in Zone C, I just laugh at them. There is one in Ogbahulu in Agatu, Iga-Okpaya in Apa, Otukpa in Ogbadibo, Olachagbaha in Otukpa, Ogbadibo LGA, Odugbo in Apa, Igwu-Ako road in Ogbadibo, Eke-Akpa road in Okpokwu LGA. These projects have not been done in zones A and B. We have Ameojo road in Okpokwu, Ikumeja in Okpokwu, Adum east in Obi LGA etc. There are over 185 projects in Zone C. The Governor has also used Acresal for water projects which is a major challenge in the area. It has been established that before now, one out of 3 homes has water collection containers. They built this big water container for them to store water. Before now they were using an under tank which was not healthy. You have the Otobi water works in Otukpo which was abandoned for more than 18 years. The Governor has injected billions of naira and revived it. The water is being reticulated and there is water in Otukpo and its environs now. Projects are done according to needs and there are scarce resources. So you cannot pack everything in one place. The Governor has even pushed himself beyond his limits in project execution. No one has done this in less than 3 years. Sometimes Benue people think that the Governor has been in office for 8 years. The man has a heart to do well.

From your candid assessment without bias, would you say the state has witnessed the needed development in almost three years of Alia’s administration?

I won’t say the state has witnessed development but total transformation. I said this with every sense of responsibility. This is because if the Governor had met on the ground a level playing field or pedestal, we wouldn’t be talking about underdevelopment in the state. We would be far beyond where we are. The Governor met so much deficit on the ground. He met a civil servant that did not have office to operate from. He met a House of Assembly that is operating from the bush because they were sharing that place with reptiles. He met civil servants who were owed hundreds and millions, civil servants that were called dead people and he had to bring them back to life. He met a Teaching Hospital where people who went there for treatments said their last prayer. I have it on record that every medication that was there had expired. He met a Benue State University that half of the lecturers were owed for many years and medical students were deprived of their allowances. He saw impassable roads in Makurdi particularly the Keke Napep street.

What are some of the striking achievements that the Governor would present to the people as he seeks re-election in 2027?

I can say categorically that he does not need to present anything to Benue people to get re-elected. The people can see everything. The Governor has strengthened the State economy through industrialization. The Benue Brewery was sold including human capital. The Governor was revived to avoid capital flight. He set up the Zeva Beer industry and less than 2 years you are having it to drink. You talk about the Fruit Juice industry, the Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation which has been named after Dan Agbese and can assure that the place is bringing billions into the state. Through the Benue Investment Company, we have a bread, water and nails factory. In the transport sector, Benue Links was revived and fares subsidized. Benue Links can now go to every part of the state. Before now, this didn’t happen. He has done projects that affect the lives of the people.

As I speak with you a team from US and Uk went round and equipment for 18 tertiary health institutions in the State are on their way. How else does a man work for his people? He has done 534 km of roads. He is transforming Makurdi into an urban city where there are bus stops and he is importing electric vehicles to reduce cost of transportation within the town. We already have electric vehicles by BIPC moving around the town. Do we talk about the appointments he has given to people in Abuja. Appointments in police and military slots belonging to Benue were almost taken away as was done in the past. These are the things the Governor is doing because he is intentional about Benue. He does not present anything. He does not need a campaign script. The man has already finished his campaign.

The Governor seems to be facing stiff opposition from the Jechira axis where he comes from, as many aspirants are contesting the position against him. How are you mobilizing support for his re-election?

There is no governor that people will not come to contest against him from the same axis even during Ortom’s time, Rev Frederick Ikyaan, Hwande and Jime contested against him. They had to do a rerun between him and Jime. People who are opportunist and have the attitude of it must be me would always do that. In the Jechira axis, there has been one statement by the royal fathers and politicians, that the Benue Governorship seat is not vacant. What are you coming to do that the man is not already doing? That’s the question we are asking. What are the gaps that you want to fill that the man is not already filling? Are you going to do anything different other than to construct roads for us? Are you going to do anything other than give us fertilizer at subsidized rate? Are we going to do anything different other than provide transportation for us to all parts of the state at half the price? Are you going to do anything different in reviving primary, secondary and tertiary health care centers across the State? Are you going to do anything different in reviving the dead industries back to life? What questions would you ask that the Governor is not already answering. Amongst all the people aspiring, I haven’t seen anyone who has the interest of the State other than to put money on the table and share it with stakeholders. But the Governor has identified the stakeholders as citizens of the State. The day to day users of the roads who couldn’t find roads to cross. What are they coming to do other than see storey buildings in schools that we have not seen before? Are they going to do anything other than employ 9,000 teachers? But in politics you do not wave anyone aside, but do what you can to mitigate them before they stop you. Am in touch with my people every time. Am there for them filling the gap which the Governor expects me to do for him because he can’t be everywhere. I set up a scholarship scheme where I am paying school fees of over 100 students in Mbanvar in Konshisha LGA. It is a 20 year project which began under the Alia administration. I built a water factory for them. As I am mobilizing them and making sure that everyone gets registered so that if it is an open primary, we have enough members to file behind my Governor. 

By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

When political philosophers say that every society deserves the kind of leadership they have, I think they have a country like Nigeria in mind. Nigeria is a country under the throes of bad leadership.

Everybody bemoans the terrible state of the country and yet nobody wants to do anything about it. Nigerians seem to accept hardship as a way of life and aberration as the norm.

The next election cycle is around the corner and while the politicians scheme about how to subvert our electoral will, the electorate remain nonchalant.

First, Nigerians have watched helplessly as the ruling APC try deviously to infiltrate, disorganize and dismantle the opposition to turn the country into a one-party state.

Secondly, the ruling APC has given us a clear signal of how it plots to rig the forthcoming general election by excluding electronic transmission of election figures from the polling units directly to the INEC server in the so-called electoral bill and we responded feebly.

The outcome of the FCT local council election on February 21 was a precursor of what to expect from the lethargic voters and the desperate APC regime in the 2027 general election. Nigerians and the opposition kept mute at the flagrant abuse of electoral process during the said election.

Nigeria is a country where the citizens tolerate everything from public office holders. The electorates will fold their arms and allow their will be subverted flagrantly at the polls by unscrupulous politicians who will usher in a reign of terror.

After which they will groan and wail but at the next election, they will allow the same rigging to be perpetuated and the vicious circle continues. The Nigeria citizens live in pain and penury and yet celebrate those who put them in such pitiable condition. The government policies and actions have created chronic youth unemployment and yet the so-called unemployed youths gather to cheer those responsible for their joblessness and are willing to work for their continued stay in power as if they cherish their vulnerable condition.

The youths make themselves willing tools for electoral malfeasance, thuggery, counter protests and other forms of violent behaviors for those in power. The impoverished rural dwellers bow and cheer whenever the wily politicians visit, especially during electioneering periods with cups of rice and other hand-outs.

Our respected traditional rulers decorate our corrupt politicians with titles supposedly meant for performers and people of honor and integrity. And almost every elected or appointed public officer, except those that decline the offer, has one form of title or the other from our traditional rulers and custodians of our cultural values. And even our revered religious institutions and private establishments like media houses are also guilty of honoring our corrupt politicians with undeserved recognitions and awards.

The implication of lavishing underserved societal recognition and awards to our political office holders is grave. It gives the wrong signal; it tells the recipient who has not done anything spectacular to deserve the awards that he or she is doing well. And when one who is not doing well is praised, he is directly being told to continue in wrong doing.

Ignorance is one of the reasons why Nigerians seem to praise and celebrate those who foist hardship on them. The majority of the members of the public are not properly enlightened about the purpose of leadership and governance.

Nigerians are divided along ethnic and religious lines. Those who claim to know politics are fixated about having their tribesmen or members of their faith in power. In Nigeria it is almost an abomination to criticize or attack your tribesman in office no matter what he has done and to some it is a haram to attack members of your faith occupying public office because it is God that put him there.

The Nigerian public is clearly ignorant about civil responsibility and public accountability. When a public officer serves and comes out without enriching himself materially, he is seen as a fool. And when you criticize those who embezzled public funds some will say that you are jealous of them.

Another problem of the Nigerian public is poverty. Poverty and lack has made the Nigerians vulnerable and subject to manipulations. It is poverty that makes it possible for vote buying and inducement. It is poverty that makes it possible for those in power to mobilize jobless youths to do counter protests and to use them to rig elections.

Thus, the twin problems of ignorance and poverty are the bane of the Nigerian nation. Ignorance makes Nigerians unaware of their inherent rights and responsibilities and inhibits their ability to hold their leaders accountable. Poverty makes Nigerians vulnerable and malleable.

Those in power know these factors and have continued to use to wangle their ways. Thus, they will design policies that will pauperize the people to make it possible to use them. The government has bluntly refused to invest in human capital development and wealth creation in order to keep the people perpetually ignorant and poor.

The day the people get enlightened and shake off the yoke of ignorance, they can forge a formidable force that will make them demand their rights. This is the truth that those in power dread.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed, An actress, social activist, politician/ London, UK. hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

By Jacob Edi

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has re-emerged on the national stage with his familiar intensity, and in a recent interview on Arise Television, the former Governor of Kaduna State made assertions of such gravity that they transcend partisan banter.

He alleged that the telephone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was intercepted and that he listened to conversations purportedly discussing plans to arrest or abduct him upon his return to Nigeria.

When pressed by the interviewer, Charles Aniagolu, on the illegality of such interception, he reportedly acknowledged the infraction but rationalised it on the premise that government actors “also listen to our calls.” This is not trivial.

The principle of onus probandi, the burden of proof, is neither decorative nor discretionary. It is foundational to jurisprudence and civic order.

A former governor alleging criminal surveillance at the apex of Nigeria’s security architecture is not engaging in political theatre; he is levelling claims with constitutional, criminal and diplomatic ramifications.

If, as suggested, a private individual unlawfully tapped the line of a sitting NSA, the issue extends beyond personal grievance.  It signals a potential breach of national security protocols.

More troubling still is the admission of benefiting from such interception. One cannot simultaneously assume the posture of an aggrieved victim and detached beneficiary of an acknowledged illegality. The law does not indulge moral equivalence.

In the same interview, El-Rufai alleged complicity by former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, known widely as Dadiyata. Ganduje has denied the allegation and countered that questions regarding the incident should be directed at El-Rufai, under whose governorship the disappearance occurred.

Here, too, conjecture cannot substitute for proof. Political rivalry may generate motive on multiple sides, but courts adjudicate on evidence, not inference. Allegation without substantiation is not accountability; it is destabilising rhetoric.

There is, moreover, an unavoidable moral paradox. During his tenure in Kaduna, El-Rufai was repeatedly accused by critics of executive high-handedness. His administration was characterised by an assertive, sometimes abrasive, conception of state authority.

He defended that approach as necessary decisiveness in a volatile environment.

It is therefore difficult to reconcile that record with his current presentation as a sentinel against state overreach. The rule of law cannot be invoked selectively; moral consistency cannot be seasonal. This tension is not novel in his political evolution.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom he served as FCT Minister, described him in his memoir as intellectually formidable yet temperamentally deficient, questioning his steadiness for higher office while acknowledging his technocratic competence.

Subsequent political fallouts with the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, with Goodluck Jonathan, and later shifts in allegiance involving Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, reinforce the perception of a political career punctuated by rupture, often at moments of thwarted ambition.

Politics is inherently dynamic; alliances recalibrate. Yet when each rupture appears to coincide with personal disenchantment, public scepticism is inevitable. It becomes incumbent upon the principal actor to demonstrate that principle, not grievance, animates his dissent.

None of this forecloses the possibility of governmental excess. Democracies demand vigilance.

But vigilance is anchored in evidence. If El-Rufai maintains that institutions are weaponized against him, he must submit his own claims and admissions to the same institutional scrutiny he demands of others.

For a statesman of his experience to make such disclosures on national television, while conveying an air of defiance, is disquieting.

He is sufficiently versed in the fragility of Nigeria’s security ecosystem to appreciate that public assertions of this magnitude reverberate beyond partisan contestation.

Undermining confidence in national security structures, whether advertently or inadvertently, carries implications far graver than personal rivalry.

Government’s response, therefore, must not be animated by vindictiveness but by duty; by the imperatives of precedent, deterrence and institutional integrity. If a telephone was indeed hacked, those responsible must be identified and subjected to due process. If the allegation is unfounded, that too must be established transparently.

El-Rufai should be required to disclose the identity of any individual who unlawfully accessed the NSA’s communications.

Likewise, both he and Ganduje must account fully for whatever knowledge they possess regarding the disappearance of Dadiyata since 2019. The unresolved absence of a citizen cannot be reduced to a rhetorical device in elite political quarrels.

History has a way of retrieving buried testimonies.

Individuals such as Luka Binniyat, who endured harsh and inhuman treatment under El-Rufai’s Kaduna, may yet add their voices to the broader narrative of power and accountability.

Nigeria deserves sobriety, not spectacle. Public confidence in state institutions is too delicate to be imperilled by unguarded declarations. The integrity of the Republic must not be rendered vulnerable to rhetorical recklessness.

In the final analysis, the burden of proof rests where it has always rested; on the one who asserts.

JacobEDI is a public affairs commentator and strategist and writes from Abuja.