Politics, many would say, is a game. To a few others, however, it is not only a serious business, it is a social contract between a political office holder and voters that elected them into office. Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia, a catholic priest who has been in the saddle for 10 months, shared his experience with reporters in Makurdi his experience in Government House. Assistant Editor EMMANUEL BADEJO was there.
• Reason some people call me Mr 25
• Says Tinubu deserves national applause for his tough choices
What informed your decision to drop priesthood for a part in the murky waters of politics?
Many people have asked similar questions. But the one that thrilled me most was Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who taunted me at a time, asking why I temporarily left the cassock to take on the headache of governance. I told him that the answer is quite simple. The church generally has an aim, which is to save souls. The church does not want people to be lost. The aim of my coming into partisan politics is exactly to fulfill that purpose. I came in to save the poor masses of Benue.
Before my advent into partisan politics, too many things were wrong. I had lived a functional 33 years as a priest with my locals. I’ve been in the trenches with them, and the people I love working for the most are the destitute, the poor masses, those who do not have a voice in our society, who are oppressed, suppressed and neglected. God loves everyone and He does not want anybody, particularly the vulnerable groups in any society, abandoned and lost. These are the people that I felt were never cared for.
How would you describe Benue at the time you took over as governor?
When I took over, I met the state in a pitiable condition. Pensioners were regarded as dead people; they were not remembered. Their entitlements were not paid for years. Local government teachers and the rest of the civil servants were nearly totally forgotten. My father was a local government teacher and I felt his pains when his entitlements were not given to him.
The state, since its creation, was just a glorified village. We didn’t even have light on the streets in the state capital. Our internal roads were minimally tarred. So many things were not just in place. Benue has more ghost schools and workers than the real ones. You come into the state capital, Makurdi, and it is like you come into a village. I felt there was a need for us to change that narrative.
But the church stood against your ambition and consequently suspended you from priesthood…
The church is not against her priests joining partisan politics. Where it is a case of plurality of parties, the church will hold her reservation. But at the same time, there is a leeway that if the church judges that the society is too dysfunctional and that the only person to salvage the situation is a priest, then the church is given that allowance. Someone can spring up via the church to save the rest of the people.
Not many people understand this, and this is why I had to come in and save the souls. We had to take care of the human beings that are out there.
You have had about 10 months in the saddle. What would you say your administration has been able to do?
Since we came in, we’ve been caring for the human beings in the state. We have been trying to fix several dysfunctional sectors. The first thing we did was introduce a policy of meritocracy, meaning you only earn or get what you earn. And having understudied the system in the last 10 months, we were able to record huge financial shift.
We are constructing roads to boost our agricultural market and food production. One of the areas we are looking at is improving the public primary schools. Can you imagine the primary school I attended having only a teacher with dilapidated infrastructure? That is a replica of many primary schools in the rural areas. We’re talking about the future of Benue, the future of Nigeria.
These are vulnerable groups who can’t fight for themselves; we need to fight for them. It is like fighting for democracy, which does not just happen; it has to be fought for. To ensure that the schools are working, there must be infrastructural traction and functionality. This is what we have been doing since we came in.
When we fight for democracy, then we’ll be fighting against food insecurity that exists because farmers are on the farms and encouraging them to go into mechanized farming. I came in to assure them that God loves them in a way they can have their liberality of thoughts, they can know that they and their children owe the future.
So, I came in so that the state will have the fullness of democracy and the fullness of life. People need to understand that government is an opportunity to protect peoples’ lives and ensure that the people go back to their agrarian society.
On May 29 last year, you promised massive infrastructural development and later declared a state of emergency on infrastructure. With the challenging economy, do you think you would be able to deliver on your projection?
We had declared a state of emergency on our infrastructure. Our primary schools were in decay. We had weeded out ghost schools in that unit. Benue had more ghost workers. For instance, we had these ghost schools with 95 teachers and the least teacher was on Grade Level 10. This had been on for a very long time. Can you imagine what the state had been losing to that alone?
So, what we did was that we were able to save N1.4 billion the first month we came on board. By the second month, we saved over N2 to 3 billion from ghost workers alone. We then shifted into the civil service where we saw some other things. The state had more casual staff than the permanent staff. These casual staff were paid between N10,000 and N15,000 a month. The entire ministry of works didn’t have up to 12 staff. This was quite unheard of. We had to weed out some of them and it is just now that we are coming to terms with reality. That is what we are doing. By this, we were able to fine-tune the system to work.
In terms of infrastructure, we are an agrarian state and over 80 per cent of the people here are farmers. But unfortunately, they were never incentivised to be the best they would be on the farms. So, we set out to do the roads that could lead from their farms to the market squares and back here to the centre. I’m glad to tell you that in the last few months, we have fixed 16 roads and we’re at the point of unveiling another 31 street roads within the capital city, Makurdi.
At the same time, other contractors are working on rural roads across the state where we have most of our food production, because that is where we want the impact to be first felt.
There are talks that you give contractors 70 per cent up front, which is unprecedented in Nigeria. What is the guarantee that these contractors will deliver on their projects?
Yes, we wrote down that 70 per cent be given to them, which we do on installments basis. We decided to be doing this to arrest the challenges of inflation and foreign exchange. For the records, we do not give 70 per cent at a go.
Let me also inform you that many of our contractors are locally sourced. These contractors have built themselves up and also because we have received other testimonials from other states. But with the agreement to sign with them, there’s no way any of them can perform below expectation. And where we sense that, we’ll hold them by the jugular. It is not as if we just give them the contracts.
It is not true that we give them 70 per cent. But because the State Executive Council said 70 per cent should be given to them because of inflation, it is segmented. That is why most contractors are scrambling for Benue State. And those who took projects and money and didn’t do the work, their day is coming as we are counting for them. They’ll have some questions to answer on why they took jobs they didn’t do.
What steps are you taking to address the security situation in your state, especially in the rural areas?
Before we were ushered in on May 29, 2023, the security reports on our insecurities were horrible. It is also on record that hundreds of people were being killed in one local government area. Before you took that to heart, you heard of another one. We had tonnes of these deaths on our hands. But since we came in, it is on record that there has been relative peace. How do we know the indices? By the same security apparatus that we have and by the reports we get from our vigilantes, forest guards and other security apparatus who are working in sync with the security of our people.
By the situation report we receive every day, we are able to measure that. Overall, we have relative peace. But at the same time, relative peace does not mean we have absolute peace.
But there are still reports of attacks and killings in the state…
It is true that we have had pockets of attacks in recent times. What we discovered was that of late, we had a large influx of armed herders that flocked in some local government areas of the state. These local governments are prone to insecurity because they share borders with a number of states.
Despite your achievements in a few months and to the delight of many Benue residents, there are still dissenting voices in your party against your administration. What are the issues?
Well, in every administration, you expect those who oppose you. I came in with a plan to rebuild our state. Some people are at their best when there is a crisis, and there are some political leaders who dug a hole and kept everyone in the state down there and they don’t want anyone to see the light of day. There were no infrastructure and no one knew where the monies given to the state were going to. They did not better anyone’s lives; they took care of their individual families. We have a conscience and a report card we must present to the people. So, if a select few say they are in charge of the state and that before development comes, they must know, when FAAC allocations come, it must be given to them first, who does that? It is not for anyone to be inciting the masses against the government.
Who gains more if all the political gladiators come together with ideologies that will take the state forward? It is regressive for anyone to be thinking of sharing the state’s money. That would not work at all. This is what some of them have been doing that has not taken us anywhere. Benue, though created in 1976, is far behind on all fronts.
Look at Nasarawa that was just created, can we consider the development in that state with what we have in Benue? Everywhere in Lafia its capital city is lit up, structures have come up. The people brought me to the seat, they ensured that I present to them the merits of democracy. They voted me on trust. Let all political gladiators come up with ideologies and not dysfunctionality that will consume everyone. So, for those who want the state’s money to be shared with them, sorry, that can’t happen anymore. This has been the practice for more than two decades and where has that taken us? I feel it is just high time everybody got on board with me.
Besides, I have my character and reputation and I came into this game with a defined intention to work with and for the people and accommodate everyone. That is what we will continue to do, because at the end of it all, I am going to be responsible for everything. I am for the people, with the people and working for them. The people of Benue gave me their trust.
You campaigned and won the election on APC’s ticket. Should there not be a well-defined arrangement to take care of party machinery?
I am not denying the understanding of doing what we should do by taking care of our statesmen. We have been doing that. I am a moderate person, it will be childish of me to go on television and say we are giving money to some people. And as much as the law allows us, we will continue to do the needful.
My predecessor plunged Benue into a huge debt hanging on my head.
It is disheartening to know that few indigenes of the state want to be known as Benue APC and they want all the funds in the state to be handed over to them. If that is done, can the state function that way? For us, we consider the masses and that is why you see all the projects going on in the state, and we will continue on that path. Anything short of that will be detrimental to the state and I am not prepared to settle for less.
Those who criticise every policy we bring out are the beneficiaries of the dysfunctional system. These are cohorts who move in their own gangs. These are social media bandits and we need to get rid of them by executing the projects we had promised to do that will benefit everyone. Some of these people come to me privately to hail me but when they come, I say to them to make their kudos known to the public. Some of them take it as a business.
It is in the news that you have a frosty relationship with the Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator George Akume. Will this not affect the party and the state?
As regards my relationship with the SGF, Senator George Akume, for the records, I don’t have any differences with him. He was the leader of the APC in the state and he ensured that everything was done for me to win, and we won. There is no way I will talk ill of him or complain. He was the one encouraging me to break all the records of my predecessor. I am also happy when I read where Akume said that he has no problem with me. We don’t have issues. But then, it is granted that social media is a new world on its own where some miscreants flourish.
Some people accuse me of pinching Benue money. They say I run the state like I ran the church. I hear them saying that since the church does not have money, priests are already used to money pinching. They are not happy with me because they expected me to keep the state’s treasury open for everyone to take what they can. If that is the grouse, I thank the church for giving me such discipline. Without the pinching, you cannot rule a state like Benue. I feel that if we consider the masses, APC will do great things for this state. I can tell you authoritatively that everybody is benefiting from the programmes and projects we are doing.
If you say you and the SSG have no differences, what about several court cases against Benue APC that made the national leadership of the party to order withdrawal of all litigations?
For the records, I never took the APC to court. So, the letter is not talking about me. Those who are working for the APC in the state have not taken the party to court. Let me be clear on this.
Are you not distracted?
I am not distracted in any form or fashion because I came into the bidding of the party and above all, the people. We are executing that script as planned, so, there are no distractions whatsoever, and that is why I am doing the work I am doing. In some places, you hear people calling me Mr. 25 because their salaries are being paid on the 25th of each month. People need to understand the stability of governance, they worked for it and they earned it. Why should they be denied?
NLC is agitating for a pay rise. Is Benue prepared to key into the new minimum wage demand?
We are prepared. As one of the sub-nationals, why can’t we be in sync with what the entire nation is doing? We must and I am prepared to go for that. Once the minimum wage is agreed upon, we must also follow. So far, salaries are being paid and we are doing well with the payment of pensions of the people as well. Their lives are back and I am willing to do more for them.
What have you done to better the lots of workers with Benue Links Transportation Company?
We met nothing on ground, I mean total zero. Those who owned Benue Links before May 29, 2023, were individual private persons. They brought in a few of their buses that used to be known as a fleet for the company. Benue Links had no cars. When we came in, we saw the need to revamp the establishment. With our location as a state, people come into the state from all directions. So, we need to ease the movement of people who need to go to other parts of the country. This was why we did some investment by buying 100 buses at a time and thank God, it was effective. We subsidised that so that the fuel subsidy removal will not have any effect on the people. I was happy with the result. I am happy that the buses are running to a good number of states. The establishment is trying to do some addition that will encourage competition towards improving our transportation and I’m looking up to that.
You have embarked on several infrastructural projects. How are you sourcing the fund? Also, your predecessor was owing workers, have you been able to clear the debts?
Though we met a huge debt, we have been able to invest in health, roads, and some other infrastructure. Unfortunately, we have not been able to offset the arrears because it runs into hundreds of billions of naira. I cannot take care of that now, but what I have done is to take care of their salaries. Under my watch, our civil servants will not lose any of their salaries.
With the pensioners, their situation was more critical, but we are trying to take care of the pensions and continue to scale down. Governance deals with prioritization.
In the medical sector, we have invested heavily in our teaching hospital. We also gave some form of incentive to our medical personnel and the student population there, many of whom we are encouraging to give back to the state. We were the first to take care of the medical doctors’ residency last year. So, we understand that many doctors are now longing for Benue to hire them. We’ll give similar attention to general hospitals and clinics in the local governments.
Government is an opportunity where the unemployed will be given some form of training and exposure to acquiring skills.
Apart from pinching the state’s resources, are there other ways your government has been raising funds to meet the state’s needs?
I’m trying to raise internally generated revenue. Our treasury had too many holes and we are making some parchments on it. If anyone accuses you of pinching, well, I thank God and the church for that training. Do you know that I got only one car just last month for the state’s business as sitting governor? I have to make some tough choices too. Though I know what the book provides and I know what others will do, I’ve got to make some tough choices. For now, I need just that one car and that is good enough for us. This can be a platform for luxury, but we don’t have that means for now.
Our President had to make tough choices, I mean tough choices. We should be clapping for him for taking the boldness to remove the fuel subsidy. He was attacked and some are still attacking him. If he didn’t make that tough choice then, where would we be now as a nation?
What is your take on the calls for a return to the parliamentary system of government?
We need to get this right. We need some education and re-education. The system of governance is not the problem; we the people are the problem. Politics is not a bad game, it is the players that are bad. God forbid, if I play bad, it doesn’t mean that politics is a bad game, it simply means that the players are the bad players who are not promoting the good spirit of democracy. It is not the form of government that is bad, but it is the people, who have their own different modes of thinking.
Take for instance, state police. It is not a new idea. We have had it in the past, but why did we jettison it? Why are we projecting its re-establishment now? Why do we have large appetite for money? Why are we too greedy? Why are we not thinking of the masses? Why do some politicians make promises of what they didn’t intend to provide during campaign? The problem is the man and not the system. This is why we need this new orientation.
Benue is an agrarian state, but she is not occupying this role. What will your government do to make the state feed the nation?
We will do all that we need to do to ensure that agriculture takes its pride of place in Benue again. I have promised financial support to those farmers who are ready to return to their farmlands, and I mean it. The state had agricultural development programmes and I’m waiting for those with requisite knowledge and techniques to come in there and take it up. The state will provide the capital to do whatever they intend to do. The state will provide the capital and the farm tools. The state can also be the off-takers of your farm products. We in the state have no reason to talk about food insecurity. We have all it takes to feed the state and the nation.
What’s your stance on the push for the autonomy of the local government?
Yes, granting autonomy to the local government will make things work better for the people. Again, it is not the system that is bad, but the individuals. So, if the managers of the local government become irresponsible, autonomy won’t make any difference.
At the moment in Benue, we are checking because we have discovered that a lot got missing from the treasury through the local government, as many of them became conduit pipes of corruption. Granting local government autonomy is the springboard of development and growth. We are already on this track of autonomy as both the judiciary and the legislature have their full autonomy. The executive does not intervene in their business.
You have some IDPs in the state. How soon would they be returning to their homes?
As soon as possible. We thank the Federal Government’s intervention. In fact, there are a number of programmes the federal government has shifted to us to impact skills and resettle the displaced persons. This particular programme is for the Northwest and Northeast, and I thank God that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave us, I mean Benue and Niger, to key in into this programme. The programme is going to enable us to get the IDPs back to their homes and enable them to take back their lives and businesses.
Where do you see Benue State by 2027?
By 2027, the entire nation will be making reference to the infrastructural development that Benue would have recorded. Having come from grass, we are headed to grace and there’s no stopping at all. By 2027, the Yes Father dynamism you’re hearing will be the sound bite on the lips of the opposition. They’ll first say yes Father before the legitimate Yes Father will say it. This is because we are doing what we promised the people we will do.
It excites me when I get reports of people coming from neighbouring states to Benue for medication. That is the new dream I have for Benue. I want to deliver a Benue that everybody will be proud of.
