Benue State governor-elect, Revd. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has said that his victory at the just concluded governorship election is a new step in a new direction.
Alia described the victory as a remarkable and historic victory for our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). I am in no doubt at all, about the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead and what this victory means in the face of these challenges.
Alia in an interview with journalists after his victory said, “We have voted to realize the vision of our founding fathers the vision of a peaceful and buoyant society where both indigenes settlers the rich, not-so-rich and the poor will engage in the pursuit of happiness unhindered.
“I want to say here that I may not be the most qualified Benue son to lead the State at this time but the Good Lord who has called me will qualify me because never in my life have I seen a people express their desires and wishes so passionately as I saw from people in this election”.
He further said: “there is a lot we can achieve through consensus and synergy. Our points of difference cannot be greater than the things that unite us. So Let us resolve, walk and work together as one people united by a common destiny. We the people of Benue, through this victory, have taken a new step in a new direction.
“We have voted to defeat the politics of backwardness, hate and division, in preference for a social contract that enhances our common brotherhood and adds value to lives.”
“Let the word go out to the wretched of the earth in our hinterlands, the poor farmer in Sankera, the palm wine tapper in Otukpa, the petty trader at Abinsi, the rice farmer in Gwer-West, and the artisan in Gboko, that through this election, a new dawn has broken in Benue, a new dawn of equal opportunity and shared prosperity”.
According to Alia, “Let the word go out to all the ends of the earth, that a people, through this election, have risen from the ashes of deprivation and depression and are marching in lockstep towards their rightful place in the hall of greatness.
“As we get set to begin the arduous task of rebuilding our state, May the God of all Goodness, who has answered our cry for freedom today, fortify us with the strength and wisdom to succeed.”
