Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Transparency International has accused the Governor of Benue State, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia of allocating N48.1billion as his Security Votes in the last thirty seven months despite rising insecurity in the state
The pressure group made this allegation yesterday in its quarterly report which was made available to journalists by its Country Director, Mr. Isaiah Ikubolaje.
In the report, the group stated that a whooping N1.3bn is being taken from the government Treasury monthly by the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia as Security Votes while killings and insecurity still persist.
According to the group, insecurity and killings have continued to rise beyond control across the twenty three local government areas of Benue State despite the allocated security votes by the present administration.
The group also noted in its report that there were killings in Benue state before Governor Hyacinth Alia took over on May 29, 2023 but stated that the killings have risen by 70% between that 2023 and now.
The group noted that there were some areas where killings didn’t take place during the times of previous administrations but there are massive killings there now as a result of negligence by the present administration.
Transparency International also recalled massive killings which have taken place in some key areas of Benue South, Northwest and Northeast in recent weeks, calling on the State Government to act fast.
The group however called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to take the safety of the people he governs and their properties more serious than politicking.
The group also called on the governor to publicly account for how a whooping N48.1billion he has got for Security Votes was spent even when the level of insecurity in the state has grown by 70% since he took over from his predecessor.
According to the group, Governor Alia should prioritize the safety of his people and stop playing politics with their lives just like his media handlers have been doing to take away the attention of the public away from the administration’s failure on security.
“There is insecurity everywhere in Nigeria and even in the Western countries but in Benue State, it appears that politics is being placed above the safety of the people by the present administration” the report noted.