Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia surprised the Catholic faithful when he bought the Benue governorship form of the All-Progressive Congress (APC) in May 2022 with zero experience in partisan politics. But with the backing of former governor, George Akume, a political war horse now the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Rev. Fr. Alia crossed all the hurdles and went on to win the governorship election......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
But if Akume had any expectation of a payback from Governor Alia who used to call him “my leader” before he entered government house, it did not take long before the hope perished. Gov Alia has carried on as his own man and has shown he would not share his power with anyone, including those who facilitated his electoral victory.
While preparing to mark his one year in office, Alia visited one of his support bases at Tse Agberagba, Konshisha Local Government Area of the state on April 28, 2024 during a thanksgiving reception marking his one year in office.
It was a good time for him to render his stewardship to the people but he chose the occasion to show his aggressive side and put everyone on notice that he was ready for a fight. Standing while addressing the crowd in his Tiv dialect, he warned his critics: “Today, we are one year in office. In the past, some people pointed fingers at us, but we didn’t bite. Some have even been barking and spitting in our faces but we didn’t react.
Starting from this day as I stand here, if you are pointing a finger at this government, ask yourself; will my finger come back in one piece or it will not even come back at all?”
Even though Gov Alia and Akume have not exchanged words openly, the former’s speech at Tse Agberagba was a confirmation of the cold war that was already obvious from the first day Alia stepped into the governor’s office.
Operation Cripple Akume
It is not a war of words or military hardware. It is hostility shown through threats, political actions and propaganda by proxies. The aim is to cripple the political structure of Akume, the man who has become an overwhelming political force in Benue State since 2007 when he ended his second tenure as governor.
To do this, Governor Alia started by appointing people that are against Akume into the structure of the APC in the state and in his government. Nobody from the original APC is in the administration of Governor Alia.
Alia fired his first shot early enough when he rejected Akume’s nominee for speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Becky Orpine, who represents Gboko East, and supported Aondona Hyacinth Dajoh, representing Gboko West. After three rounds of voting in which the governor was present, Dajoh managed to defeat Opine by two votes, winning 17 against her 15 votes.
But the battle for the speakership was an indication that the governor was prepared to fight Akume. Lawmakers who supported Opine have since become victims of the Governor’s war with Akume. The APC also submitted a list of lawmakers for the remaining leadership positions in the assembly, but the speaker rejected.
“The speaker told us clearly that the governor had given him another list,” said Daniel Ihomun, Benue APC publicity secretary while responding to THE WHISTLER on the crisis in the state. Ihomun also revealed that the governor constituted his cabinet and appointed LG caretaker chairmen without consulting stakeholders of the party, including Akume.
THE WHISTLER spoke to several lawmakers who did not want to be quoted for fear of further victimisation on how Alia relates with them. They explained that Alia’s strategy is to starve the lawmakers of funds and do selective patronage by not releasing budgeted funds timely and completely, while lawmakers seen as Akume loyalists are denied their official entitlements.
For instance, out of 32 members of the assembly, only 26 of them deemed loyal to the governor got official vehicles, leaving out 6 deemed to be irredeemable supporters of the SGF. Again, for whatever reasons, the N30 million per annum usually paid to lawmakers as Constituency Services funds were paid to only 18 members till date. The remaining 14, allegedly tagged Akume supporters, are still waiting for their own.
When it was time to constitute his cabinet, Alia also rejected Akume’s nominees, and selected commissioners and special advisers after consultations with his faction of APC led by Benjamin Omakolo who operates close to the Government House in Makurdi, not from the party secretariat. The Akume faction of the party, which claims to be the mainstream APC, is led by Austin Agada and are in court for alleged illegal sacking.
Alia also ensured that key positions went to persons from his Vandeikya LGA of the state. For instance, the Accountant General of the state, Theresa Nyitse is from his local government. The Auditor General for LG, Abraham Chia and the Special Adviser in charge of the Bureau for LG Affairs, Denis Akure are from his local government area. So, is the Executive Secretary of the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), James Iorpuur.
None of Akume’s nominees made it into Alia’s cabinet and anyone of his appointees who showed the slightest allegiance to Akume was either sacked or relegated. The Deputy Governor of the state, Samuel Ode, is one of the victims of the cold war with Akume.
The governor has reduced his influence in the government due to suspicion that he could be more loyal to Akume than to him because of a family tie with the SGF. Ode’s mother, who is Tiv, is said to be related to Akume’s mother! Insiders told THE WHISTLER how difficult it is for the deputy governor to see his boss. “He once went to the governor’s residence and was kept waiting for the whole day,” revealed a senior official at the Government House.
Why Governor Alia Is Fighting Akume, VP’s Connection
Supporters of both gladiators explained to THE WHISTLER that Akume, who imposed Alia on the APC in the countdown to the 2023 governorship election, had thought he would be able to control him and continue to be the numeral uno party leader in the state.
They said this was the reason he wanted to install Opine, who is very close to him, as the speaker of the state assembly but the governor fought it. Alia, on the other hand, is described as a man who doesn’t understand how politics is played and is not prepared to make any political compromises.
His Royal Majesty, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, had tried in vain to resolve the conflict between two of his famous subjects. Sources in Benue claimed the governor had remained incalcitrant.
But THE WHISTLER gathered from sources with deeper understanding of the conflict, claim that the fire behind what is cooking in Benue is Vice President Kashim Shettima. They make the plausible claim that the underlying factor is the expected fight for Nigeria’s presidency in 2031 between the North Central and the North East.