Benue: Gov Alia’s list of commissioner-nominees stirs controversy

The list of commissioner-nominees submitted to the Benue State House of Assembly by Governor Hyacinth Alia has been generating controversies.

Governor had on July 27, transmitted a list of 14 commissioner-nominees to the House for screening.

Speaker of the House, Hyacinth Dajoh, announced the development while reading the letter from the Governor during the plenary on Thursday last week.

Dajoh, who did not reveal the names of the nominees, said they would be known on the day of screening.

However, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday accused the Governor of committing impeachable offence by allegedly failing to send the list of nominees to the House within his 60 days in office as stipulated in Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended by the Fifth Alteration No. 23 of 2023).

PDP in a statement issued by the State Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom alleged that Governor Alia deceived Benue people by claiming that he sent a list of nominees to the Speaker.

The party accused the Governor of transmitting a list of “ghost nominees” to the House.

Reacting, Governor Alia, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula accused the PDP of peddling fake news, ascribing their alleged anger to the ongoing fight against corruption in the State.

According to Kula, the opposition party has no proof that names of Commissioners were not submitted to the assembly before or within 60 days from the date of proclamation of the Assembly.

He said the House was on recess during the period and was only called back for an emergency sitting with the aim of receiving and attending to the list submitted to them by the Governor.

“The truth remains that there is no way those overtly tainted by corruption won’t fight back. And it is a fact that when corruption fights back, it does so vigorously. This is just one of those attempts to fight back.

“The former Governor Samuel Ortom’s PDP is full of loose-talking hicks, who are known for propaganda and for peddling of lies”, the statement added.