25 SHOCKING LIES OF GOVERNOR HYACINTH ALIA
The people of Benue State have been treated to a series of startling lies and contradictions from Governor Hyacinth Alia since he assumed office in 2023. From campaign promises to governance claims, the governor has consistently misled the public. Below is a compilation of some of his most audacious lies and contradictions:
1. The governor said he has never taken a loan, but the House of Assembly recently approved a ₦100 billion loan for him without any reasonable explanation.
2. When he was suspended by the Bishop of Gboko Catholic Diocese for joining politics, he claimed:
“The letter the Bishop sent to me was not a suspension. The Bishop only formally permitted me to go and contest the election.” LIE!
3. Shortly before the 2023 election, he promised:
“I will return all the IDPs to their ancestral homes within my first 100 days in office.”
LIE!
He is, instead, building additional camps for the IDPs.
4. He promised:
“I will clear the arrears of salaries and pensions within my first 100 days in office.”
LIE!
He is the only state governor under the President Tinubu era yet to clear arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
5. He promised:
“I will end insecurity in all parts of Benue State. The algorithm is quite simple.”
LIE!
6. He promised:
“I will grant full autonomy to local governments.”
LIE!
But he hates to hear the phrase ‘local government autonomy’ now that he is governor.
7. “After the 2023 election, he said:
“We are paying salaries with only the state IGR and not touching federal allocations.”
LIE!
His government has been receiving huge FAAC allocations but refuses to give account of the funds.
8. “I have sealed all government bank accounts because the past government issued some individuals cheques and they are waiting to cash out.”
LIE!
He sealed the accounts so as to be the sole person spending the funds as it pleases him. He sees Benue resources as church parish money.
9. “The Ubokoti mbaioruv (Akume’s camp) are against me because they asked me to bring the state funds to be shared but I refused.”
LIE!
No one requested a penny from him. He is only using that false excuse to deceive the public.
10. “The State Assembly passed a resolution to remove the State Chief Judge but I did not sign it because I know that it has to be procedural.”
LIE!
He personally directed the former Attorney General, Fidelis Mnyim, to initiate the removal process of the Chief Judge.
11. “The Attorney General joined the state in the suit seeking to scrap EFCC without my consent.”
LIE!
He was desperate to ensure that EFCC was scrapped because he knows he is their tenant in waiting.
12. “He forced the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Aondona Dajoh, to resign. Reliable sources confirmed that the forced resignation resulted from an in-depth investigation by the Dajoh-led Assembly, which uncovered shocking corruption by the governor and his appointees. Yet, in his usual manner of denial, Governor Alia publicly distanced himself from the Speaker’s removal.
13. “National Assembly Members from Benue wrote a letter and dropped at the Nigeria–Niger border inviting armed herders to return to Benue to graze freely and disrupt my administration.”
LIE!
He was the one who received ₦7 billion from Fulani people and took an oath to protect them in Benue State and give them lands to occupy.
14. “We have tackled insecurity to a standstill. The state under my watch is enjoying relative peace.”
LIE!
This mocks the victims of herdsmen attacks in Benue State, many of whom have been killed while thousands have been displaced from their ancestral communities.
15. After 200 people were killed in Yelewata, he claimed:
“The authentic report of the casualty number we have is that only 59 people were killed in Yelewata.”
LIE!
This man lacks human decency, integrity, and compassion. He places importance on his seat of power above the safety of the people. He lies effortlessly, even against the dead.
16. “What we are witnessing in Benue State are mere skirmishes and communal clashes, not herdsmen attacks.”
LIE!
Another lie from the pit of hell! No fewer than 18 local governments of Benue State have been attacked by his Fulani partners.
17. “The killings in Sankera are home grown; the militia in Sankera are fighting for supremacy; it is a battle for supremacy by rival cult groups, not Fulani.”
LIE!
18. “The ECOWAS protocol on transhumance has allowed herders to freely come into the state with their cattle at any time.”
LIE!
19. “I have issued a two-week ultimatum to herders to vacate Benue State or have me to contend with. We must enforce the Anti Open Grazing Law.”
LIE!
20. In the next breath, he contradicted himself, saying:
“We can’t enforce the Anti-Grazing Law of the state because it is not a national legislation.”
LIE!
21. “Youths of Gwer East rustled cows, slaughtered the cows and were selling in wheelbarrows.”
LIE!
A governor who falsely accuses his own people before the world is not fit to be on that seat. Alia has sold Benue people to Fulani!
22. Listen to more of his contradictory statements:
“The people killing our people are foreigners and not Fulanis; they don’t speak Fulani language.”
LIE!
23. “Peter Obi didn’t inform me that he intended to visit Benue. I barred Obi from visiting the IDP camps because I wanted to protect the displaced people.”
LIE!
24. “Our administration has awarded 13km Wurukum to Airforce Base road at the cost of ₦68.3 billion!”
LIE!
It is corruption of the highest order!
25. Contracts for projects are awarded by Governor Alia without due process, and the project figures are highly inflated. The governor awards contracts that are not budgeted for, in gross disregard for due process, and without the approval of the State Executive Council or oversight from the State House of Assembly. He deliberately refuses to disclose contract details, sums, duration and other terms.
Governor Hyacinth Alia has reduced governance in Benue State to a theatre of falsehood and contradictions. His unending stream of lies has deepened public distrust and worsened the suffering of the people he swore to serve.
Compiled by ZEBRA REPORTERS
