11/04/2025
TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY BENUE ADVOCACY NETWORK (BAN) IN RESPONSE TO THE MEDIA CHAT BY GOVERNOR HYACINTH ALIA
April 11, 2025
Gentlemen of the Press,
2. We watched with disbelief the live media chat hosted by the Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, yesterday, April 10, 2025. During the two-hour session, the governor embarked on a self-glorification voyage and, as usual, raised unsubstantiated claims without tangible evidence to support them. Governor Alia condemned all previous administrations for doing little or nothing until his assumption of duty.
3. Characteristically, the governor avoided discussing the most pressing issue that has become an existential threat to the people of Benue State. He deliberately refused to address the spate of insecurity perpetrated by armed Fulani herdsmen, which has led to constant attacks on Benue communities, resulting in thousands being killed and communities being occupied by armed pastoralists. He was deliberately silent on the occupation of Benue communities by Fulani terrorists who have been deciding when and where the people can move.
4. Even when Governor Alia reluctantly mentioned the critical issue of insecurity, which is currently affecting about 19 out of the 23 local governments in Benue State, he merely rationalized and defended the nomadic cattle herders by making inappropriate references to the ECOWAS Protocol, claiming it provides legal protection for pastoralists to move freely in and out of territories. As he has often done, the governor described the issue of insecurity as “skirmishes.” His false claims prompted an erudite son of Benue State, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Sebastine Hon, to issue a statement correcting the wrong impression created by Governor Alia’s comments regarding the transhumance of livestock within ECOWAS member countries. We refer the governor to Prof. Hon’s patriotic article, which is in the public domain.
5. Governor Alia also claimed that he had no data on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were in different camps. This is another misleading assertion because the previous government, through the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in collaboration with international organizations and civil society groups, carried out detailed documentation of all those in the various IDP camps. It is therefore unfortunate that Governor Alia has chosen to play politics with the plight of the displaced people.
6. It would have been interesting to hear Governor Alia provide reasons for the abandonment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017, which was enacted by the previous government with the support of the Benue people. This law was very effective in tackling the herdsmen menace until the current government took office. The enforcement of the law by the immediate past administration led to the arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment of many violators and the impoundment of hundreds of animals whose owners were fined and sanctioned. By the time the previous administration was leaving office, cows could no longer be seen roaming around and destroying people’s farms and other property in parts of the state. The records for the successful enforcement of the law are still available. The current government has reversed and jeopardized all those measures and disbanded the State Livestock Guards to please the Fulani.
7. Another important issue the governor avoided discussing was the reported award of N68.3 billion for the rehabilitation of the 13-kilometer Wurukum to Airforce Base road. We watched the Benue State House of Assembly plenary session where the Director General of the State Public Procurement Commission, Dr. Comfort Adadu, clearly stated that her office was only aware of N28 billion approved for the rehabilitation of the road from Wurukum to Airforce Base. The media chat presented Governor Alia with an opportunity to clarify this controversy, but he unsurprisingly avoided the matter.
8. During the interview, Governor Alia again alleged, without proof, that his administration inherited N359 billion in salary arrears from its predecessor. He further claimed that the state was in a state of coma before he became governor. He also asserted that the previous government did not pay salaries and pensions throughout his two terms.
9. The assertion by the governor that he inherited N359 billion in salary arrears is not only a fictitious narrative but also a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. Interestingly, the same Alia government previously announced through the Governor's Chief Press Secretary that the previous administration left them with N187.56 billion in debt, which was the exact figure contained in the handover notes presented to him by the previous government. If Governor Alia wants the public to believe his narrative, his government should publicly provide evidence that the previous administration handed over N359 billion in debt.
10. Governor Alia and his team are quick to discuss finances as they relate to the previous administration but fall silent when questioned about how he is currently managing the state's resources. There has been zero accountability since Alia took over on May 29, 2023.
11. The previous administration inherited N72 billion in unpaid pensions and seven months of salaries from its predecessor. The government immediately began to clear the backlog, and out of the 96 months during its eight years in office, it paid 91 months—meaning that it left only five months unpaid. That was a government that served the state during one of the most difficult periods in its history. Remember that during that time, Nigeria faced two recessions in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically reduced federal allocations to near zero.
12. By the time the previous government left office, it had reduced the salaries, pensions, and gratuities burden which it inherited from N72 billion to N38 billion in pensions and gratuities. The previous government also inherited contract obligations amounting to about N150 billion but didn’t make any noise about the matter, unlike the present government. It is also important to note that it was the previous government that domesticated the Contributory Pension Scheme in the state, and it contributed over N8 billion to bring Benue closer to the required threshold for accessing funds to clear pension arrears. Alia is currently benefiting from that visionary initiative.
13. The records are there to show that before the previous administration left office, it took proactive steps to negotiate and ensure significant debt reduction and relief for the state. Owing to that administration’s dogged stand against the impunity and injustice of the Buhari government against its people, the State Government was denied several entitlements, which it pursued for the state, including funds from bonds, Stamp Duty, SURE-P, Signature Bonus, among other funds that the state legitimately deserved to benefit from. The Alia administration has received those funds. What they owe the people now is an explanation of how they have managed the funds.
14. The Alia administration has not informed the people of Benue that since May 2023, when President Tinubu approved the removal of the fuel subsidy, Benue, like other states, has been receiving federal allocations four times higher than those received by the previous government.
15. The current government should stop sounding as if it brought some magic wand to pay salaries promptly. No state in the country today owes salaries, pensions and gratuities. Before the Alia administration took over, 28 states in the country could not pay salaries because meager resources at their disposal did not permit them to do so. The reverse is the case today with the Tinubu money windfall. All other states have since cleared the arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities, except Benue State.
16. Since the current government came on board, it has been obsessed with the previous administration by persistently raising blatant and false allegations against its predecessor. Governor Alia has set probe panels against the previous government, so we expect his probe panels to publish their reports to support the accusations he has been making against the immediate past government.
17. Alia also claimed that he granted local government autonomy before the federal government did. The claim that he has implemented local government autonomy is a fallacy because, as we speak, local government chairmen in the state have no access to their funds. Benue was one of the states that battled the Federal Government up to the Supreme Court in a bid to stop the granting of financial autonomy to local governments. The previous government had already granted autonomy to local governments in the state and never interfered with their resources, contrary to the present situation, where local governments are denied access to their funds, and all their resources are controlled by the state government.
18. The previous administration always published its accounts for everyone to see. Under the immediate past government, for the first time in the history of Benue State, union leaders were made a part of the State Joint Allocation Committee to enable them to know firsthand what the state and local governments were receiving and how the funds were being utilized.
19. Governor Alia similarly claimed that the judiciary in the state began to enjoy autonomy as soon as he assumed office in 2023. The governor’s statement about the state judiciary is not only misleading but also a glaring irony because, as we speak, judiciary staff in Benue State have been on strike for about five months now. The fact remains that the previous government enacted legislation that granted autonomy to the state judiciary. It was the current government that reversed this decision.
20. His claim of implementing a N75,000 minimum wage is also not factual because Benue State University staff and several government ministries and agencies have not seen the new minimum wage reflected in their payslips. The state judiciary workers, for instance, are on strike because of the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.
21. Similarly, Governor Alia’s claim that his government has reticulated water in parts of Makurdi and other areas of the state is another false claim. For instance, the current government has done nothing about the Greater Makurdi Water Works since the efforts of the immediate past administration to complete the project and to begin reticulation of water in some locations in the state capital.
22. Governor Alia also claimed that his administration has revived government hospitals and primary health centres across the state, and we wonder which of the medical facilities has benefited from such efforts. The Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) has become an edifice of political propaganda by the present administration, as no tangible improvements have occurred in the hospital since governor Alia took power. On a daily basis, patients are leaving the hospital due to poor services, including the absence of water. It is on record that the previous administration acquired state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and two Dialysis Machines from Siemens, installed the equipment, and made them fully functional before handing them over to the current government. The previous administration also established a twin-theatre complex and wards, including a surgical ward, medical ward, gynecology ward, pediatric ward, intensive care unit, amenity ward, orthopedic ward, ophthalmology ward, and neonatal ward. Additionally, the previous administration established a well-equipped Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Tropical Diseases Intelligence in the state.
23. Benue was also among the states that filed a lawsuit seeking the scrapping of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). When it became apparent that such states would lose the case, Governor Alia cleverly declared that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice filed the suit without his approval. He feigned the suspension of the Attorney General for a few days and then asked him to resume his duty post. In the same manner, the governor wrote a letter to the State House of Assembly asking it to remove the State Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpabese, but then turned around to deny any knowledge of such a move. This has been the stock-in-trade of this government led by a priest who should lead by impeccable example.
24. *OUR DEMANDS*
a) We challenge Governor Alia to publish the monthly allocations he has received from the federation’s account since May 2023.
b) We demand accountability detailing how Benue’s funds are being expended by the governor.
c) We challenge the governor to disclose the state’s wage bill, especially after he claimed to have removed thousands of “ghost workers” from the state government’s payroll.
d) He should publish a list of the ghost schools that his government claims to have discovered, along with a list of the individuals behind such schools.
e) The governor should also publish the cost of the underpasses he has been constructing for nearly two years in Makurdi and Gboko.
f) The governor should also publish details of the contracts he has awarded to prove that such contracts were not awarded in gross violation of due process.
g) Governor Alia should also publish the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state from May 2023 to date.
h) The governor should inform the people of Benue what his government knows about the sustained attacks on our communities and his plans to end these killings.
i) The governor should also provide an explanation for the additional camps and tents that his administration is constructing for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), instead of fulfilling his promise to return them to their ancestral homelands within his first 100 days in office.
k) Governor Alia should equally explain to the people of Benue the whereabouts of the “100” vehicles he displayed on the day he launched a new security outfit known as “Anyam Nyor” in December last year. Where are the vehicles, given that no one seems to have sighted them in any part of the state, especially in the face of intensified attacks on our people?
l) Governor Alia should explain what has happened to the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of 2017, and why herders are taking over more communities in the state without any action from his government to stop them.
m) We will not be overly concerned with Governor Alia’s boast that he must serve two terms of eight years in office, as if he were elected for a term of eight years. Such boasts have become synonymous with his government. The answer lies in the hands of God through the voters of Benue.
25. Finally, we wish to make it abundantly clear that we will no longer sit and watch the Alia administration launch sustained media attacks on the previous government. Governor Alia has already spent two years in office with only two remaining, yet, he is still blaming the previous administration as if that is part of his stewardship. He should instead tell Benue people what he has accomplished in the last two years.
The Governor should remember that he is now a politician and no longer on the pulpit. Every bit of falsehood he utters against the previous administration will be met with an equal response. This government should also know that we are in a democracy, not a military dictatorship where freedom of expression is prohibited. The people are closely watching all their utterances and actions, and will respond at the appropriate time.
