Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia. Source: Google.
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The Reverend Father, who turned politician, was so excited by the overwhelming show of support he got from the poll.
By Ademu Usman Idakwo
When Reverend Fr. Hyacinth Alia, took over the mantle of leadership in the crisis-torn Benue State on the 29th of May, 2023, little did he know that politics in Nigeria setting is dirtier than often said.
The Reverend Father, who turned politician, was so excited by the overwhelming show of support he got from the poll, as a result of the abysmal performances of then-governor, Samuel Ortom in all areas of administration.
Alia’s emergence as governor to the ordinary people and civil servants in the state was a dream come true as their prayers for a God-fearing man to sail the ship capsized by Ortom came.
In his inaugural speech, Alia said ” Benue: Hope is here.”
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia. Source: Google.
Six months later, the hope was almost dashed, as the governor was faced with the reality of enemies within who had become the cog in the wheel of governance.
Trouble started when the governor’s body language was rightly decoded by his god-father, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume that he would not be a willing tool to be used to further his political interest in the state.
This act of insubordination was interpreted to be disloyalty to his party and the faithful who laboured to enthrone him as governor of the state against all odds.
There has been no love lust between Alia and Senator Akume, who relied on the federal might to uproot the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 polls in the state.
The crack began when the governor single-handedly appointed his immediate aides like the Chief of Staff and other key positions without deferring to his political leaders who invested heavily both financially and otherwise, hoping to be allowed to populate their cronies in the government.
Alia’s first baptism of fire from the All Progressive Congress (APC) warlords in the state, was the appointment of Paul Ibiam as Chief of Staff.
The party caucus wanted to cage the Reverend Father by appointing key positions for him to enable them to have a grip on the power, unfortunately, they were outsmarted by the Alia whom they thought was a political novice.
Governor Alia. Source: Google.
Several protests were made to the governor to change his mind on the appointment of Ibiam as Chief of Staff but refused to back down as the emissaries could not convince him why his choice was wrong.
Alia, as a political out- sider has been running from pillar to post on how to appease the political gods and goddesses in the state, with the construction of roads, building of primary and secondary schools infrastructure as well as off-setting the salary arrears left by the loquacious former Governor Samuel Ortom.
Despite the accolades from the people in the state for his achievements within six months in office, the governor continued to encounter sleepless nights without knowing where the nightmare was coming from.
The cat was let out of the bag recently when the forum of 21 local government chapters of APC staged a protest against his administration and accused him of anti-party activities.
The visibly angry local chapter leaders, rising from their forum meeting in Makurdi, the state capital, issued a communique to outline the instances of strained relationship between them and the governor, which include inaccessibility, non-responsiveness to phone calls and exclusion of party leadership from key appointments or political responsibilities.
They said the governor refused to include them in the sharing of the state bounty and appointment, instead, he was dishing out to those who did not work for his victory.
The communique which was read by the Chairman of the Forum, Mr Austin Agada said the deliberate attempt by the governor to undermine the party structure in the state shall be resisted.
The forum commended President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume for carrying party members along and resolved to boycott any state functions and official activities over the anti-party behavior of the governor until their demands are met.
Alia, still testing the murky water of Benue politics with his two feet, without considering the rampaging APC members in the state, went ahead to appoint caretaker committees for the 21 local government areas in the state despite the pending court order asking him to reinstate the former council members who were predominantly PDP.
The appointments aggravated the crisis that snowballed into a full-scale battle.
The governor who was also learning fast in the game, allegedly instigated the House of Assembly to pass a vote of confidence on his administration, having cunningly shifted the blame for the dissolution of the local councils on them.
Moving the motion on the floor of the house, the member representing Mata State constituency of Ushongo Local Government Area, Honourable Simon Gabo, stated that since the assumption of office, Alia has embarked on policies and programs that have revived the already lost confidence of the people in governance in the state.
The lawmaker said within six months in office, Governor Alia has stabilised the payment of salaries to workers and pensions to retirees, totally rehabilitated the dilapidated old Assembly Complex, and the completion of some road projects.
He stated further that the governor did all these within a very short time without borrowing funds from anywhere, which according to him was a clear manifestation that he was using the state resources judiciously.
In seconding the motion, the House Chief Whip, Honourable Peter Ipusu, said the governor has also purchased quality vehicles for members of the House and placed their welfare on the front burner.
He then added that the Speaker also earned a confidence vote due to the impactful manner he has led the House.
This did not go down well with Governor Alia’s party APC and the opposition, PDP who have been looking for opportunities to bounce on the Governor, then a battle line was drawn between the embattled governor and the politicians in the state.
The Minority Leader in the Senate, Abba Moro from Benue South threw the first salvo at the Governor by asking the Senate not to release funds to the local governments that have no democratically elected council members.
Moro, on the floor of the house, openly accused the governor of playing politics with the constitution by dissolving the elected councils before the expiration of their tenure, despite the subsisting court order.
A member of the House of Representatives representing the Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo federal constituency, Philip Agbese, in a demonstration of elite bitterness as Reverend Father Alia removed the governor’s portrait from his office.
The federal lawmaker, walking into his office at the National Assembly Complex on a fateful day, removed Alia’s portrait from the gallery of his office and ordered his secretary to trash it, saying he was not fit to be called a father or leader.
According to him, the governor, having no regard for democracy and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has no place amongst the comity of leaders in a democratic setting.
“So, today, I officially removed the portrait of this person (Governor Alia) from my office. Because he is not fit to be a leader. We can’t follow him.” he stated.
As it is, the storm is gradually gathering as opposition mounts against Governor Alia’s administration in the state, but time shall tell who will win.
