The Benue State governor-elect, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday paid a visit to the seat of power, where he met President Muhammadu Buhari.
He hinged his visit to the presidency on the need to thank the President, who he noted displayed neutrality in the just concluded general elections.
When asked how he would confront the challenges between residents of the state and herdsmen, he said he would seek all avenues to broker peace among the warring citizens by revisiting the existing anti open grazing laws.
He described the current state’s civil service as being in a state of near collapse and confined to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), noting that he would infuse life into it and keep it going.
Alia, was accompanied on the visit by the former Governor and current Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, George Akume.
Responding to more questions posed at him, the Governor-elect particularly noted that the state owes a backlog of salaries including pensions and gratuities, hence he is determined to remain focused and tackle the myriad of issues on his desk when he assumes office on May 29, 2023.
On whether he would proceed to probe his predecessor against the backdrop of his letter to the Benue Investment Property Company, warning them of financial transactions with the incumbent governor, Alia said, “I haven’t looked at the books, so I wouldn’t want to be quite preemptive. Once I’m sworn in, I know that what the good people of Benue want is progress and development.
“And there’s so much that we need to put on track for things to work. Benue state is an agrarian zone and so we must focus on agriculture and upgrade it.
“Benue is very capable of feeding the whole nation, so we are not just the food basket of the nation by name and I am hoping that we will up our game in agriculture and take care of the rest as well.
“It is sad that the life of civil service in the state is near collapse, it’s in the ICU, so I just need to get in there and infuse life in it and keep it moving.
We have a lot of backlog of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities. So, already I got much on the desk to keep a good focus on and I remain hopeful that I am going to do just that.”
The Benue governor-elect who emerged on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), commended President Buhari for standing on the firm decision for the general elections to take place.
He noted that although people were expecting a perfect election, it may not have been perfect but a number of areas in the country recorded a near perfection in the outcome of the results.
He said “For someone to feel that we have never made the stride in the right directions I think that would be a flaw of logic. So, we have done so much and I remain quite grateful. My visit is a solidarity visit and the President leaves office in a matter of months, I came to wish him well. He has done so much for the nation. Remember, I am a Catholic priest and I prayed for all of us too and shared the blessings with him too.”
On what he was set to do in his bid to address the animosity in the state over the anti-grazing law and pacify, Alia said: “One thing must remain clear, let it be on record that the Benue people are very hospital people. We are very friendly people and over the ages, we’ve lived in all cultures and different people. And so if some mishap had happened in the last eight years, thank God the eight years has expired.
“I want everyone to feel that Benue is a home for everyone. Remember, before I am stepping in there as a governor, our history reveals that we have all cultures in Benue and so it is, we have all cultures in Nigeria in Benue. So I believe my time will not be any different.
“If there were some errors, I would correct them. But I know for sure we are hospitable, we are friendly and the Benue State Assembly is also a knowledgeable Assembly.
“So, the 10th Assembly is going to work for the people and do the work of the people. If by chance anybody perceived us to be a hostel state, please we are a renewed hope of Benue, a hospitable, friendly, law and order people. So, we are all welcome to Benue as we move in there.”
