* Urge Tinubu to call him to order
Lawmakers elected into the National Assembly on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have come hard on the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Hyacinth Alia, describing him as “a dictator” who is running the state like his personal business.
Rising from a one-day retreat organised in National Assembly on Thursday, the lawmakers, under the aegis of Benue APC National Assembly Caucus, also called on President Bola Tinubu to quickly prevail on the governor before he runs the state aground, adding that Alia’s tendencies could cost the party a defeat in subsequent elections in the state if he is not quickly called to order.
“We the undersigned are members of the National Assembly Caucus elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform from Benue State. Having watched with apprehension the absence of democratic leadership in Benue State in the last six (6) months exemplified by the arrogant and egocentric conduct of Governor Hyacinth Alia, we have decided to draw the attention of Mr President and other leaders of APC in Nigeria to seek their immediate intervention before the fortunes of APC in Benue State are totally destroyed,” a statement released after the retreat read.
Reading further, the leader of the caucus and senator representing Benue North West, Senator Titus Zam, said the matter had been reported severally to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, who has been mediating to see that things were normalised.
“It is necessary to state from the onset that we have collectively and individually drawn the attention of the leader of the APC in Benue, Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who has on several occasions pleaded for patience from us in the anticipation of a possible change of attitude from His Excellency Governor Hyacinth Alia, rather than change for the better.
“Governor Alia has become more emboldened and has continued to treat us and the party in general in the most disgusting, disrespectful and disingenuous manner,” he said.
In retrospect, the APC lawmakers said: “Fr. Alia only came to reap where he did not sow. In any case, you are well aware of the rejection his candidacy received from older members of the party including litigations in several courts of law up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. It took the strident support of Senator George Akume to extricate his candidacy from the destructive grip of his co-aspirants and eventual victory at the polls.
“Today, the ungrateful Fr. Alia, who had barely joined APC two months before the governorship primaries assumes a messianic posture and tend to appropriate the victory of APC in Benue State as a product of his so-called popularity; without regard to the painstaking and systematic efforts of the subsisting formidable political structure which has enthroned all the governors in the state before him.
“The question begging for answers is; why did the self-acclaimed popular priest not contest on the platform of either APGA, PDP or other smaller political parties in Benue State?
“For clarity’s sake, let us contextualize some of the dictatorial and egocentric tendencies of Governor Alia and his poor treatment of Benue APC in the last six (6) months of his administration in Benue State.
“The election of the speaker of Benue House of Assembly. The position of the speaker was zoned to the Jembagh bloc of Benue North West Senatorial District, coincidentally the birthplace of the SGF, Senator George Akume, whereas APC has 22 members out of a total of 32 members of the Assembly.
“Governor Alia connived with former Governor Gabriel Suswam of PDP to produce a speaker different from the candidate preferred by APC. In the contest for the position of the Speaker, Governor Alia held midnight meetings at the residence of Senator Gabriel Suswam and got Ten (10) PDP members to align with seven recalcitrant APC members to beat the APC preferred candidate by the margin of two votes; thus began his unholy alliance with PDP to undermine and maltreat the legitimate members of APC in Benue State.
“After the speakership debacle, the party again nominated and made a spread of principal officers of the assembly, comprising Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip.
“Surprisingly, the speaker joyfully agreed with the opposition party on all nominations from the Peoples Democratic Party as endorsed by the state chairman of the PDP and secretary but jettisoned the list submitted by APC and rather accepted the list that was unilaterally submitted by the governor through his Chief of Staff.
“It was an embarrassing experience for the party having to face the dejection in the hands of an administration it laboured hard to install. However, the party submitted and sustained their faith in the governor and his government even when they felt aggrieved and resorted to stand by the advice of the leader of the party Senator Akume whose counsel has always been for the party to keep praying for Fr. Alia to succeed.”
The awmakers, comprising senators and House of Representatives members elected on APC’s platform from Benue State, also used the occasion to pledge loyalty to President Tinubu, the National Chairman of APC, Umar Ganduje, Akume, the state Chairman of APC, Comrade Austine Agada, and his state led executive.
