The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has reacted to an accusation that he is working against the party that brought him to power, the All Progressives Congress.
Alia’s reaction was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, on Sunday.
The Benue State chapter of the APC had accused the Governor of neglecting the party, opting to work with opposition political parties.
It also accused him of recruiting and funding a five-man committee to convey false information about the state’s chapter of the party to the Presidency and the APC National Secretariat.
But Alia, while debunking the claims, insisted that he had a special love for his party, especially the Benue State chapter, and was working tirelessly to make the party proud.
He said: “A particularly absurd claim says there is a formation and funding of a committee headed by retired Gen. Lawrence Onoja and Mr Emmanuel Jime, supposedly tasked to misinform the Presidency and National Secretariat about the situation in Benue.
“That committee is also expected to spread falsehoods against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“As a governor, l am determined to fulfill my campaign promises to Benue people.
“My continued funding of our party activities and expanding its stakeholders meetings in the state are eloquent testimonies of how I hold the party so dear to my heart.”
The statement commended the Zonal Chairmen of the APC in Benue State for their honesty in giving credit to the excellent performance of the governor, so far, and resolving to stand by him.
It added: “Since the party did not accuse the governor of underperformance or cited public dissatisfaction with his leadership style, it means that we are on the right track.
“While we acknowledge the need to unite Benue and make it a better place for us and our children, we equally wish to submit that developing Benue in all sectors is an imperative that sits boldly on the wish list of Alia.
“Alia understands the importance of unity and teamwork in achieving the above. He has been making frantic efforts towards maintaining a cordial working relationship with the leadership of his party.”
The Governor explained that those recently sworn in as interim local government caretaker chairmen were among those nominated by the party.
According to Alia, it is in his prerogative to subject suggested names to scrutiny as no sane governor will accept wholly everything suggested to him hook, line and sinker.
The governor described as “false” the claim that he was planning to dump the party, adding: “This unsubstantiated claim further exposes a desperate inclination on the part of the fabricators.
“They keep cooking media statements from rumours, trivial gossips and their whimsical imaginations, rather than relying on concrete facts.”
Meanwhile, Jime, the immediate past Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, said Alia has not recruited anyone to speak on his behalf in Aso Rock Villa.
Jime stated this on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The APC governorship aspirant in the 2019 elections, was reacting to allegations by the state’s party zonal chairmen in a statement that he was among members of a five-man committee recruited by Alia to misrepresent the Benue State chapter of the APC in Aso Rock Villa and the National Secretariat.
Jime, however, said those making the allegation were ignorant of the way democracy operated at the executive level.
According to him, a sitting governor always has direct contact with the president because he is the chief security officer as well as the party leader in the state, and so does not need anybody to speak for him before the president or the national secretariat of his party.
Jime said:“The tragedy of our democratic experiment so far, is that most of us see politics as a meal ticket.
“Whenever an elected official chooses the path to real development, you will have the stomach infrastructure politicians attempting the distraction strategy.”
He, therefore, appealed to Benue State people, especially the stakeholders, to support the governor to deliver on his campaign promises instead of creating unnecessary distractions.
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He said: “Benue is in dire need of a development agenda and the governor appears to be focused on this.
“All men and women of goodwill must join in this all important endeavour.”
NAN reports that the APC zonal chairmen had also in the statement accused Alia of neglecting the party in his decisions, an accusation the governor had strongly denied.
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