35 UNPRIESTLY THINGS & LIES OF GOVERNOR HYACINTH ALIA
By Oliver Omenka
Hyacinth Alia, the suspended priest who manipulated sentiments, deceived the masses, and smuggled himself into Benue State Government House, has been a liar and a conman all his life. He lied in the church for 32 years and is currently lying to Benue people. His life has been built on lies, theatrics, and dark alliances that have now exploded in the full glare of the people.
Below are 35 unpriestly things and lies of the man Alia:
1. Alia lied to a young lady in America that he is not a priest and got married to the lady and had children with her. He later fled to Nigeria and resumed his pastoral duties.
2. There is also the case of a Canadian lady who has a child for Alia. She lives in Canada with the child. Alia remains in constant contact with both her and the child but has repeatedly denied the existence of any such illicit affair.
3. Another lady is currently living with Alia’s biological daughter in a palatial house in Guzape, Abuja. She was given that house by her husband, Governor Alia.
4. On the day Alia was sworn in as governor, some of his children were present with him on the stage, all dressed in white attire.
5. When he was suspended by the Bishop, Alia quickly claimed that the letter Bishop William Avenya wrote suspending him was merely a pat on the back to officially release him to run for governorship. What! A letter that clearly stated that the priest was suspended because of his rebellion (contumacy) against the Church suddenly became “permission” to contest an election?
6. Alia released his purported WAEC certificate, which was obviously forged. All WAEC certificates, whether GCE or SSCE, bear two important numbers, the Candidate Number and the Certificate Number. It is only Alia’s WAEC certificate that is different, without any of those two numbers. What a man!
7. Alia who was then the Parish Priest of Anum, St. Thomas Catholic Church, Anum, opposite BSU First Gate, diverted a full trailer of cement that was donated for the church project and used it to build his private house, which he calls the “White House,” in New GRA.
8. The yahoo yahoo governorship primary election that produced him as APC candidate was a fraud. It was only in Vandeikya that some hemp-smoking hooligans were quickly assembled to queue up and pretend as if they were voting. Pictures and videos were made to give the impression that a direct primary held. No election took place. But the “man of god” (not God) came out to accept the result of the sham primary and described it as transparent, free, and fair. Kai!
9. He took an oath with Fulani and they gave him N7 billion to protect their interests and give them Benue lands to occupy.
10. 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.
11. Shortly before the 2023 election, Alia promised to return all the IDPs to their ancestral homes within my first 100 days in office, but has failed to do so. He is instead building additional camps for the IDPs.
12. Alia promised to clear the arrears of salaries and pensions within his first 100 days in office but has failed to do so. He is the only state governor under the President Tinubu era yet to clear arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
13. Alia promised to end insecurity in all parts of Benue State but has failed.
14. He promised to grant full autonomy to local governments, but he now hates to hear the phrase “local government autonomy.”
15. After the 2023 election, Alia 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.
16. “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 he alone could spend the funds as he pleases. He sees Benue resources as church parish money.
17. “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.
18. He told the public that the killings in Benue State are not genocide!
19. “The State Assembly passed a resolution to remove the State Chief Judge, but I did not sign it because I know it has to be procedural.” LIE!
He personally directed the former Attorney-General, Fidelis Mnyim, to initiate the removal process of the Chief Judge.
20. “The Attorney-General joined the state in the suit seeking to scrap EFCC without my consent.” LIE!
He was desperate to ensure that the EFCC was scrapped because he knows he is their tenant-in-waiting.
20. “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.
21. “National Assembly members from Benue wrote a letter and dropped it 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.
22. “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 and thousands displaced from their ancestral communities.
23. After 200 people were killed in Yelewata, he claimed:
“The authentic 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.
24. “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.
25. “The killings in Sankera are homegrown; the militia in Sankera are fighting for supremacy; it is a battle for supremacy by rival cult groups, not Fulani.” LIE!
26. “The ECOWAS protocol on transhumance has allowed herders to freely come into the state with their cattle at any time.” LIE!
27. “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!
28. 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!
29. “Youths of Gwer East rustled cows, slaughtered the cows, and were selling them 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!
Listen to more of his contradictory statements:
30. “The people killing our people are foreigners and not Fulanis; they don’t speak Fulani language.” LIE!
31. “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!
32. “Our administration has awarded the 13km Wurukum–Airforce Base road at the cost of ₦68.3 billion!” LIE!
It is corruption of the highest order!
34. 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.
35. Alia is secretly selling Benue’s investments to himself using his kinsman Raymond Asemakaha. The governor has sold over N12 billion worth of Benue shares in different companies. One of such companies is Zenith Bank.
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.
* Omenka is the Secretary-General, Network for Transparent Governance (NTG)
