BENUE NEWS: APC Local Council Chairmen Accuse Benue Governor, Alia Of Running ‘One-Man Show’, Mismanagement Of Funds

APC Local Council Chairmen Accuse Benue Governor, Alia Of Running ‘One-Man Show’, Mismanagement Of Funds

This was stated in a communique at the end of their meeting on Thursday, 30th November, 2023.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen in the 23 local government areas of Benue State have accused the state governor, Hyacinth Alia of mismanaging funds meant for local councils in the state.

This was stated in a communique at the end of their meeting on Thursday, 30th November, 2023.

The council chairmen mentioned further that the governor had neglected the party and ran the government like a one-man show, while berating Governor Alia’s decision to select local government caretaker committees without consulting the party's leadership.

The party chairmen publicly distanced themselves from the governor's actions and decisions, and decried what they termed his tendency to be inaccessible and refusal to answer phone calls or even consult with other leaders of the party.

The communique stated: “The Forum stated that, instances abound that it could no longer pretend that all is well between Governor Hyacinth Alia and the party both in the state and at the local government area chapters ranging from his being inaccessible and not answering of phone calls, non-inclusion of the party’s leadership both at the state and local government levels in making the key appointments in his government as well as the mockery melted on the personality of the forum and the party stakeholders in the recent constitution of local government caretaker committees; an exercise the governor saddled party’s stakeholders across various local government areas with the responsibility to nominate three persons for each position but instead the governor dumped the list presented by the stakeholders and in his usual way produced a unilaterally list made up of non-party men and women.

“That the said list indeed, is not in conformity with the unanimous decision of the party stakeholders in various local government areas but rather a mockery to the grass root politicians who staked their neck for the party to succeed in their respective areas”, the Benue APC chairmen stated in the communique.

“In the meantime, Governor Alia has come under fire over his handling of local government funds in the state, since he was sworn in. Some Social Media activists from the state have taken to their blogs and handles in the last two weeks to demand that the governor comes clean on what his administration is doing with local government allocations since he suspended elected chairmen of the 23 council areas, over five months ago.

“Some of the activists such as Iorfa Eddy and Steve Tyover accused Governor Alia of suspending the democratically elected council chairmen and installing his stooges to be syphoning funds meant for development at the 3rd tier of government.

“The activists alleged that more than N100 billion has accrued to Benue for both the state and local governments since the month of June this year but Governor Alia has little or nothing to show in terms of development and has refused to give accountability for the funds.” 

Another issue that has drawn sharp criticisms against Governor Alia is his government’s procurement of buses meant of palliatives to be used by the state-owned transport company, Benue Links.

Some of those who have written about the development accused the governor of buying refurbished buses with inflated prices when other state governors were purchasing brand new luxurious buses to cushion the effect of the economy in their states, the chairmen said.

Also on Thursday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State, through its Publicity Secretary Bemgba Iortyom, took a swipe at Governor Alia for what the party described as “flagrant disregard for the rule of law” by the Governor with the announcement of caretaker committees for local government areas of the state despite a prevailing court order stopping him from doing so