September 08, (THEWILL) – Benue state government says it read a statement credited to the disputed governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Revd Fr Hyacinth Alia, in which he described the present and all past Governors of the state as failures, who have only contributed to its underdevelopment since 1976.
Alia, in the said statement, boasted that he is on a messianic mission, as the only one in the entire state who has the capacity to liberate Benue from what he called “unconscionable looting of public funds”, since the state was created.
The unguarded utterances of the suspended priest were to say the least, shocking, ridiculous and unfortunate, coming from a man, who has never in his life been tested in any public office, not even at the Council Ward level and therefore, totally lacks the capacity to fathom what it takes to govern a state.
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Terver Akase, in a statement on Thursday, in Makurdi, noted with sadness that Alia’s condemnation of all past and present Governors of Benue State, the likes of the late Aper Aku, the late Rev Father Moses Adasu, Senators George Akume and Gabriel Suswam, as well as the incumbent, Samuel Ortom, as looters and failed Governors, rather casts serious questions on his credentials as an aspiring leader.
Mr Akase pointed out that “a man who wants to be king, does not kill a king”, saying the contumacious priest is playing to the gallery to curry unmerited favour and praise from unsuspecting people.
“His attack on the present and previous administrations in the state smacks of hypocrisy, mischief and crass ignorance of what development entails.
We challenge Alia to publish his track record of achievements, qualifying him to seek the office of Governor.”
According to the Special Adviser, becoming a governor takes more than mere dancing to the vulgar songs of party supporters, who insult opponents daily on the streets.
“Here is a man who does not have any evidence of development in all the places where he worked as a priest before his suspension by the Church. If he could not bring growth to any of the Churches where he served, how can he develop a large entity like the state”, Akase asked.
Mr Akase noted with dismay that thousands of Benue people have been displaced as a result of flooding and herdsmen attacks, but Fr Alia, who claims to love the people and wants to liberate them has never visited any of the IDP camps to support and pray for the victims; saying service to the people does not only happen when a man becomes a Governor.
“An aspirant whose name is not found in the register of the party he claims to be flying its flag, needs to be bothered about the web of controversies surrounding his emergence, more than what the previous governments did and what the next Governor of the state plans to do.
“The belligerent and purported APC governorship candidate ought to face his plethora of legal battles arising from the yahoo yahoo primaries conducted by the party which produced him, yet, as a dubious character, he openly hailed the process as transparent”.
Mr Akase therefore, advised Father Alia to go and contend with the numerous court cases confronting him; saying his self – appointed role as a latter day critic is not only preposterous, but also amounts to a pretentious posture which negates reason.
The statement said, “Alia is the first and so far the only Nigerian who is said to be a political party candidate, but has been vehemently resisted and rejected by all other aspirants and many members of the party.
It notes that Benue people are already weary of Alia’s undercover deals with vested powerful interests outside the state to trade the people for a pot of porridge and his cravings for material wealth.
According to Akase, Governor Ortom and the former Benue Governors (except one), had no hand in the blunders and wilful disregard for due process that characterised the APC primaries, in which Alia was a mismatched beneficiary.
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