Gov Alia snubs Benue Assembly over insecurity.
Worried by the spate of insecurity in Benue where people are being killed and others kidnapped on daily basis by Fulani armed and other terrorists, the Benue State House of Assembly decided to extend an invitation to Governor Hyacinth Alia to appear before the Executive Session of the House and brief the lawmakers on what his government is doing to prevent further bloodshed.
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The Governor however dismissed the summon of the Legislature as worthless and refused to appear before the Executive session of the House today (Monday) 15th April, 2024.
The legislators led by their Speaker Aondona Dajoh felt embarrassed and decided to go and meet Governor Alia to get an explanation for his action of snubbing the House over a sensitive matter such as the security of lives and property of the people.
Eye-witness account have it that on getting to the Governor’s palatial mansion known as ‘White House’ located in New GRA, they were made to wait for hours without the governor coming to address them even when he was evidently at home.
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From around 10 o’clock in the morning till past 3pm, the House of Assembly members were still waiting without even a bottle of water served them and no word given them on why the governor would not meet with them.
Governor Alia eventually emerged from his mansion but moved straight to his car and his convoy drove off without saying a word to the waiting legislators.
Apparently as an afterthought, he called one or two of the lawmakers and asked them to continue waiting in his house till whenever no one of them knew he would return.
The frustrated and visibly angry Assembly members Speaker and his group stormed out of the “White House” and left.
This is not the first time Governor Alia has snubbed members of the Benue State House of Assembly. He has not honoured any of their motions since their inauguration in June last year.
The House has passed several motions and resolutions which the governor has rejected, among which are the house directive for him to unfreeze accounts of the State Government that he sealed since the 29th of May, 2023.
Another resolution of the House passed but Governor Alia has refused to act upon was the nomination of one Vincent Gisaor who failed screening to become the Secretary of the state Independent Electoral Commission, BSIEC. Gisaor was indicted for insulting the entire Tiv race. Till today, the governor is yet to send another name as replacement.
Governor Alia has also earlier refused to honour the motion of the House asking his security advisers to resign for failing in their duties to address the wave of insecurity in the state.
