Alia-Benue APC feud: We’ve been vindicated – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, claims that the ongoing battle between Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue state and leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state has vindicated its long-standing outcry against the current administration’s misrule.

The party in a statement weekend by its State Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom noted with shock that the crisis had deteriorated so badly that the National Assembly caucus of the party urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the matter.

The party in the statement said, like every well-meaning Nigerian it “watched in shock the SOS sent by the Benue State Caucus of the APC in the National Assembly, NASS, to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu entreating his intervention to save the state from the disastrous misrule of Governor Alia who shares the same political platform with them.

“In the full glare of the global press, 11 out of the 12 members of the Benue APC NASS Caucus were present and took turns raising very grave concerns over Governor Alia’s manner of governance ranging from authoritarian and emergency-style running of the affairs of government, without regard for due process, the rule or law, or consultation and inclusivity in decision making, as well as corruption and mismanagement of public resources.

“It was indeed a crying shame to see the government of Benue State called out in such abysmally low manner, and with such sordid details.”

The PDP said. “But true to character, the Governor, through his Chief Press Secretary, rather than tow the path of reason, opted for ad hominem hurling insults at the NASS members as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, whom he accused of being behind his travails and christened him in unstately language as the ‘Maitama Saint.’

“Governor Alia also claimed that the NASS members and the ‘Maitama Saint’ ‘…keep boasting about how they have concluded arrangements to manipulate the Supreme Court judgement in favour of the PDP candidate who has agreed to defect and join the APC.’

“PDP finds such a claim by the governor as not only laughable, but also a cheap attempt to discredit the solid and unassailable litigation process that the party and its candidate Engr. Titus Uba have staged with painstaking details to prove that APC through willful default did not field candidates in 2023 Governorship Election in Benue State; the matter which is now before the Supreme Court.

“We regret that the outcry of the Benue APC NASS Caucus only confirms the repeated warnings we have for some time now consistently raised over the incompetence and voodoo style of governance adopted by the Benue State Governor.

“Since his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, Governor Alia has carried out the business of the government of the state in total disregard for lawful procedures of administration in appropriation and application of public funds as well as appointments of officials into the various offices of government.

“We raised alarm over the contract for the renovation of the Benue State House of Assembly Complex which was put at around N1billion and done when there was no Executive Cabinet in place to consider proposals and tender for the project as provided in the procurement laws and financial regulations of the state, even as the governor’s lawful spending limit was only N50 million.

“PDP also raised outcry over the mismanagement of the Subsidy Removal Palliatives package given to the 36 states including the FCT which to date Governor Alia ranks in the upper bracket of states where the package was most poorly implemented.

“Our great party has equally called attention to the award of contracts for the construction of 16 short streets totalling 15.3 kilometers in distance coverage at a mind boggling N9.5 billion ranking it as the most expensive such project anywhere in Nigeria in its time, and this too was awarded at a time the governor had no Exco to vet the process of selection of the contractor and cost control, neither was there any attention paid to the public accountability processes stipulated under the procurement and financial laws of the state.

“We had warned of the inimical consequences on the social solidarity content of the state by the nepotistic motives consistently attending Governor Alia’s appointment of persons into offices of public trust in the state, in gross violation of the principle of fairness, equity and inclusivity in government.

“Our great party has always maintained the clarion call on Governor Alia to give regard to the tenets of due process and rule of law as well as line up to the duty of accountability and transparency he owes the people of Benue in his running of government, yet to no avail.

“The contention by the Benue APC NASS Caucus members that the governor is running Benue like a church parish is putting it succinctly and their SOS to President Tinubu to save the state from impending doom at the hands of the governor only confirms what PDP saw from the onset.”