February 15, (THEWILL) – Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has dispelled rumours of the award of a contract for the construction of an underpass worth N44 billion by his administration.
The Governor equally dismissed the allegation that 13.11% of the 2024 Benue Budget has been allocated to the Governor’s office for this fiscal year.
Describing the allegation of N44bn as laughable at a news conference in Makurdi on Thursday, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Tersoo Kula, explained that the ongoing contract of the underpass at High Level Roundabout met all the required procurement details before it was approved and awarded to Bauhaus Global Investment Nigeria Limited on December 23, 2023, for about N6 billion.
He said, “Some people are not interested in the development of this state. They are very sad at the moment. They hate to see anything good happening here. They are enemies of the state who fabricate stories and sponsor some ready mischievous youth to propagate on cyberspace with a clear intention to generate hatred for the administration.”
According to the CPS, the High level underpass was amongst three of such projects that were proposed for construction by the current administration, with the other two being flyover projects at Wurkukum Roundabout and Gyado Junction, Gboko.
He said that given the proactiveness of the Governor and the love of President Tinubu for the Benue people, the Wurukum flyover, which the State Government had proposed to construct for N9 billion, has now been redesigned and awarded for about N20 billion by the Federal Government, with work billed to commence soon.
He explained that Bauhaus Global Investment Nigeria Limited, a company that has done construction jobs in Nassarawa, Kano and other parts of Nigeria, was chosen for the job ahead of three other contractors.
Commenting on issues raised by the Benue State National Assembly caucus, who alleged during a press conference that the dissolution of the Local Government Councils in the state is the reason for the increased herders’ attacks, the CPS said it appears the group know what many, including the Governor, is unaware of.
“Already, the State Government is investigating a letter allegedly sent to the herdsmen to return and occupy some parts of the state. The Anti Open Grazing Prohibition Law 2017 is still in force in Benue state,” he said.
He queried while the National Assembly caucus would descend so low to the point of quoting a fictional sum of N3 billion as monthly security votes for the Governor, saying the government is not against anyone or group for speaking on issues that affect the state, but such issues must be built on truth and must not be aimed at instigating the people against the government.
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