Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has disclosed he is not leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC) for another party, despite the ongoing crisis in the state’s APC.
The governor made this clarification during a media chat yesterday at the Government House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, saying that such insinuation is coming from mischief-makers.
“I am not going anywhere, for the records,” he said, adding that those pushing that narrative do not wish him and the state well.
“I am not stupid to follow the bandwagon of mischief makers to take the state down into the dungeon again.
“I came into politics to restore Benue to its lost glory; otherwise, I would have remained a priest. I would have remained in a local environment with my people. I have to fulfil my contract with God and the masses.
“The previous administrations did the little they could, but the immediate past did nothing,” Alia added.
Alia explained that he entered into a tripartite social contract with God, himself, and the masses before assuming office.
Governor Alia said he was heavily indebted to God and the masses, vowing not to betray their trust for the interests of a select few.
According to him, as an ordained priest of the Catholic Church for 35 years, he joined politics to set the records straight and bring Benue and the people out of the laughable condition the state found itself.
“If I cannot set my people free from abject poverty by doing what I promised to do, my conscience will judge me.
“For this, I hereby stand in fulfilment of the tripartite social contract I have with God and the masses; I know a handful of people will feel aggrieved because human capacity is being developed, civil servants and pensioners are smiling home Monthly, over 300 kilometres of roads are being constructed across the state, among many other projects, but I want to let them know that this was what I came for.”
Governor Alia said he was aware that those who were in the habit of feeding fat on the state’s resources would not be pleased with his administration but that he was committed to serving the generality of Benue people, not just a few.
“I want to tell them that taking what belongs to the majority of the people and giving to a handful of people is evil, but trying to do what is right for everyone, to put things in the right perspective for few to be aggrieved is a lesser evil, and for me, I will go with the lesser evil.”
“Benue People are farmers, and as long as they have security and farm inputs to get food to feed their families, what they require from the government is minimal; just good schools for their children, employment, quality healthcare services, good roads and market for their produce,” he said.
On the issue of a political tussle with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, he said, “As the leader of the party in the state, I don’t have any challenge with the SGF, who is my leader; I respect him a lot. If there is a fight, he is yet to spell it out, but for me, I can’t point any finger of any anxiety between us.
“However, this is politics; I know people may have skirmishes and expectations that may not be met, and they may feel aggrieved. Such people should bring their expectations up; my administration is people-oriented, and the politicians are among the people.”
He stated that as a people-oriented governor, he was committed to doing what would benefit the common man.
“That is why I am supplying answers to questions they nurtured many years ago, and I want to assure you that I will continue to work for the unification of APC members in Benue,” he added.
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