…EFCC Must Immediately Move In
Yesterday April 8, 2025, the Director General of the Benue State Public Procurement Commission, Dr. Comfort Adadu, appeared before the Benue State House of Assembly to clarify concerns regarding the award of a N68.3 billion contract for the 13 km Wurukum to Airforce Base road, which has generated a lot of criticism and further exposed Governor Hyacinth Alia as a very corrupt person.
During the House plenary session, the Director General clarified that there is indeed a contract for the Wurukum Airforce Base rehabilitation, but the figure approved by the Commission, following due process, was only N28 billion, and not N68 billion as Governor Alia had claimed.
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Everyone inside the Assembly chamber and those of us watching online were shocked beyond words! How can a man who is supposed to be a priest lie and steal from the people so effortlessly and shamelessly?
Governor Alia is running a government anchored in falsehood and fraud. It is unfortunate that a man who once stood on the altar as a priest could choose to spew lies that can only be associated with the devil and his agents. Alia lied his way to power. He made the people believe that he would be for them, but the opposite is now the case. His government is highly corrupt and reckless.
No wonder the church suspended this fake man on two occasions! Alia has disgraced the priesthood! His colleagues on the pulpit are also feeling the shame. That is why many of them, including bishops, have distanced themselves from his government of treachery, mendacity, and corruption. Alia is out to tarnish the image of the Church.
The Wurukum to Airforce Base road contract is only one of the few cases of corruption so far exposed under Governor Alia. You can imagine the numerous other cases that are yet to come to light.
Late last year (2024), the Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Grace Adagba, was indicted for embezzling N2 billion. It was clear that she acted on behalf of Governor Alia because the governor has refused to sack her despite widespread public outrage.
Another investigation showed that the Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs had stolen the sum of N1.7 billion, which was siphoned from the monthly security votes of the local government councils in the state.
Governor Hyacinth Alia and his officials have been involved in acts of corruption since June 2023, which have been exposed by whistleblowers and civil society groups. By the end of 2023, the Governor was accused of misappropriating about N66 billion of public funds in less than seven months in office. Out of that amount, N46 billion was said to be from the state government coffers, while N20 billion was reported to have been embezzled from the monthly allocations of the 23 local governments in the state.
The level of financial malfeasance occurring in the administration of Governor Alia, if not checked, could crumble the economy of Benue State in the near future. Huge sums of money have accrued to Benue State in the form of federal allocations, palliatives, and other interventions from the Tinubu administration since the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Sadly, Governor Alia has not informed anyone about what has accrued to the state in the past two years and how he has expended the funds. He has remained silent on the state wage bill and has consistently evaded any inquiry into the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Benue’s allocation has increased tremendously, but there is nothing to show for it.
The governor recently purchased a Bombardier Challenger 850 private jet for his comfort at the cost of N11 billion. That money could have been allocated to crucial sectors that directly impact the lives of the people.
We call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to immediately commence investigations into the reported cases of corruption by Governor Alia and his cabinet. This will save Benue State from further financial damage.
Signed:
Dennis Agema
President
Network for Transparent Governance (NTG)
Oliver Omenka
Secretary General
