By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The main opposition party in Benue State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the State Governor, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to account for how he expended N44 billion in special intervention grants received from the Federal Government between August 2023 to 2024.
The opposition party in the state, through its State Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, made the call while reacting to the submission of the leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Tilley Gyado, that N44 billion in the form of intervention funds were accrued to the state in the past nine months.
Gyado, who spoke at the APC stakeholders meeting in Makurdi on Sunday, 3 March, 2024, had listed the special intervention funds accrued to the state to include, N5 billion post-subsidy removal, N9 billion Infrastructural funds, and N30 billion sub-national intervention funds.
However, the state government and other states have denied receipt of N30 billion as alleged by the Senate President, Senator Godwin Akpabio.
The PDP in the state described the statement by the APC leader as ‘shocking’, saying, there had been no disclosure from the governor of receipt of such funds, except the post-subsidy removal (palliatives) fund which, after much pressure from our end, he had accepted having received in part N2 billion, and thereafter had kept sealed lips over the outstanding N3 billion.
“If there was a N9 billion infrastructure fund and a N30 billion Sub-national intervention fund, the people of Benue State are only getting to know about it from the APC statement, and this by all standards of transparency and accountability is unacceptable.
“PDP is saddened that this non-disclosure of N44 billion federal intervention grants by Governor Alia reinforces his policy of concealment and disregard for due process and the rule of law which underpin a style of governance that is in character a sole administratorship.”
The opposition party urged the governor to come clean and disclose how he had expended the N44 billion special grants, as to do otherwise would be to thicken further the cloud of suspicions hovering over his administration.
