Nigerian Concord Newspaper
Corruption Watch, an anti corruption pressure group based in Abuja today berated the governor of Benue state, Reverend Father Hyacinth for allegedly budgeting a whooping N1.9 Billion monthly for government house expenditures.
The anti corruption group said this in a press statement signed and made available to reporters today by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Chukwudi Baldero.
The group wondered how Governor Alia who claims to be a prudent man of God can successfully fight corruption when the bulk of corrupt practices rests on his table.
The group said it was wrong for a man who claims to be working in the interest of the masses to plan to spend over N1 billion every month this year on food, wardrobe, electricity bills and other expenses for his comfort.
Also, the people of Benue state have taken to their social accounts to condemn the budget.
Recall that a portion of the Budget of Infrastructure Development, Job Creation, and Poverty Alleviation which the governor signed few days ago indicated that the sum of N1.9B has been earmarked to be spent in the Government House monthly.
According to the budget, the monthly allocation for “Benue Government House Administration” is N1,093,958,333.3 (One Billion, Ninety Three Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Three Naira and Three Kobo).
Records have shown that it is the first time since the creation of Benue State that a Governor has allocated such a huge amount for spending in Government House Makurdi in a state where the average monthly internal revenue, IGR (tax performance) for the State stands at N600,000,000 (Six Hundred Million Naira).
Also, some analysts who commented on Governor Alia’s budgetary allocation for his comfort in Government House have wondered why a man who says he in power to serve the people will appropriate such a huge amount for his daily expenses in an agrarian state like Benue.
One of the analysts Dr. Peter Awunah who wrote from Abuja said “despite the revenue windfall from the removal of petroleum subsidy by President Bola Tinubu and the huge allocations coming to Benue State many times higher than in the previous administration, Governor Hyacinth Alia has embarked on a spending spree without accountability or transparency and has zero regard for due process in financial management”.
Recently, two popular online newspapers, Nigerian Concord and Sahara Reporters did a thorough investigation on Governor Alia’s running of Benue State and exposed monumental corruption in his award of contracts, purchase of palliative buses and other sundry actions of the present government in the state.