…Diverting State & LG Funds Heavily
Our investigation has revealed that corruption of monumental proportions is currently taking place in the Benue State Government under the leadership of Governor Hyacinth Alia. The government has literally turned the state resources into his private wealth and has been spending it as it pleases him.
Contracts for projects are awarded by Governor Alia without due process and the projects’ figures are highly inflated.
Recall that a few months into office, Governor Alia increased his approval limit from N50 million to N250 million. He also increased his security votes to N1.5 billion every month, something that has never happened in the history of the state.
Since President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidy in May last year, Benue’s monthly share of federal allocations has risen from around N4 billion to a whopping N12 billion!
The 23 local governments of the state which before subsidy removal were getting N3.5 billion monthly now receive about N9 billion. That is the money that Alia and his cronies have been diverting into their pockets with reckless abandon!
Why Dennis Akura’s Sack Was Reversed!
Last month, Governor Alia sacked his Special Adviser on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dennis Akura but recalled him soon after. Inner sources disclosed that the governor had accused the Bureau Adviser of engaging in other underhand deals without his consent.
A few hours after Akura was sacked, the embattled local government bureau boss threatened to spill the beans and expose all the corrupt ways of the governor. This threat quickly spread and got to governor Alia who was said to be visibly worried over the damage Akura’s revelation could cause him.
Governor Alia immediately directed the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Joseph Alakali to cease further action on Akura’s sack.
Addressing Oshiomole’s Implacable Quest to be Edo’s Tinubu
Since the return of Akura, the level of embezzlement of Benue council funds has doubled because he is now remitting to the governor’s private accounts the balance of the billions after the payment of salaries and pensions of local government workers.
Since Alia took charge as governor of Benue State, the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has been involved in uncountable levels of corruption with billions of local government funds under its control missing and unaccounted for.
Several civil society groups wrote petitions to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti corruption agencies calling for the arrest and prosecution of Mr Akura but Alia continued to harass the whistleblowers while shielding his Special Adviser until when he began to suspect that Akura was not remitting to him all the leftover funds after salaries and pensions were paid.
Alia strongly opposed the grant of local government autonomy because he wants to remain firmly and solely in charge of the billions accruing to the councils.
The EFCC must act quickly and other relevant anti-corruption agencies to take immediate and thorough action to investigate the Benue government under governor Alia before he renders local governments accounts empty!
Signed:
Aloysius Gbakaan
President, Alliance for Truth and Justice (ATJ)
