2023 : Fr Alia decries deplorable state of things in Benue
… urges Benue people to remain hopeful
By Titus Atondu, Makurdi
As 2023 general elections draw nearer, Benue State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia has expressed worry over the high deplorable status of the economic sector in the state under the watch of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Fr. Alia stated that nothing is working in all the sectors due to the zero performance of the present administration.
Alia made the disclosure at IBB Square in Makurdi at the weekend while unveiling Barr. Sam Ode as his running mate, and Rev. Pastor Frederick Ikyaan as the Director General of the Gubernatorial Campaign Committee for 2023 general elections.
The APC governorship candidate explained that the civil service that is the engine room of any responsible and functional government has been neglected by the PDP led government in the state.
He urged the Benue people to remain hopeful as he would lift the state from its deplorable position when he wins the election few months from then.
“There is no word enough to describe the deplorable state in which Benue is today. Nothing is functioning, including the civil service. The civil servants never get their wages as at when due, no promotion, no recruitment of new ones, and the federal government sends allocation to the state monthly”, Alia lamented.
“Our pensioners who are the real heroes of our state are already described as dead people. Remain hopeful because 2023 is at the close. Your dry bones are going to rise again,” he assured.
Alia also pledged to reward Benue teachers here on earth and not in heaven.
“Our hospitals are in a deplorable state and stink, but in a matter of months, our hospitals will be resurrected.
“There is a disconnect between our state and the federal government. How then will there be development in a state that is disconnected from the center”, he queried.
He assured that the state will be reconnected to the federal government to enable it function. He expressed happiness to work with Sam Ode and the president in waiting, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom he described as goal getter and the Jagaban of Nigerian politics.
Earlier, the deputy governorship candidate, Sam Ode expressed appreciation to the party for finding him worthy of the position and promised not to take the opportunity for granted.
“I am going to submit myself totally and absolutely to the ideal of the APC. I will give unflinching loyalty to my principal and the governor in waiting, Fr Hyacinth Alia,” Ode pledged.
Ode who counted himself lucky to serve a priest of God promised, “I will roll up my sleeves and will work tirelessly to salvage the Benue people.
He described Rev. Alia as a man of the people, saying that as a team, they would not disappoint the people.
Nigerian NewsDirect reported that the APC also inaugurated the entire gubernatorial campaign team with Rev. Pastor Fredrick Ikyaan as the Director General.
Comrade Austin Agada, the State Chairman of the APC, appealed to aggrieved members of the party, especially those who went to court to sheath their sword, in the interest of the party,
Agada enjoined all to allow peaceful resolution of all issues to enable them go into the elections with one voice to rescue Benue.
