By Henry Ibya, Makurdi
Benue State Governor Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, has explained that those bent on sabotaging efforts of his administration were 1999 set of party stakeholders who have fed fat on the state allocation and have become used to it such that they could go to any length for selfish benefits once they are denied access, describing such people as true enemies of Benue people.
Governor Alia who was reacting to N44bn allegations leveled against his government by faceless groups he alleged were sponsored by stakeholders who have berated him in all possible demeaning words because of his body language, alleged that after a family dinner that turned out to be a factional state Congress of the APC, which took place in Makurdi recently against government ban on political gatherings, explained that the allegations were only an attempt to give him a bad name.
The governor whose clarification was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Tersoo Kula, released in Makurdi, described as mischievous, allegations of the groups, explaining that senate president Godswill Akpabio who first brought up the news of N30 billion allocation to governors for purpose of infrastructural development later came out to apologise to the Forum that what he said was not true, but wondered why the stakeholders who were fully aware of the fact would still go public to repeat the same lie.
Governor Alia further maintained that he has never hidden any funds released to his administration to the public, stressing that when N2b out of the N5b palliatives was given to Benue, he was among the first governors to announce receipt of the funds, as well as gave to the people expenditure account covering the purchase of new buses at the Benue Link’s and fertilizer government purchased for farmers.