Nigerian Concord Newspaper
A former Senior Special Assistant to Ex-Governor Samuel Ortom on Research and Documentation, Hon. Iorliam Shija has criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia over yesterday’s inauguration of his Economic and Policy Advisory Team, describing it as ill timing.
Shija, a renowned public affairs analyst stated in a press statement he signed and sent to journalists today that the governor made a good decision to inaugurate the Economic Team at a wrong time.
According to him, such important team would have been set up by Governor Alia immediately he took over as governor of Benue State in 2023 so that the aim of forming the team could be achieved.
To Shija, it is ill timing to set up such team in less than a year for Governor Alia to complete his tenure as governor of Benue State. He stressed that constituting an Economic Reform Team now is just a waste of time and diversion of public attention to the many failures of the administration
He said: “An Economic and Policy Advisory Team is typically designed to shape policy direction, provide long-term planning and influence the trajectory of an administration.
“Project monitoring structures are usually most effective when they are in place from the beginning of a government’s life cycle, not towards the end. Agencies responsible for road maintenance, recreation, economic development and project supervision generally require time to establish systems, formulate policies and produce measurable outcomes.
“What meaningful impact can these new structures make within the limited period remaining before the end of the current tenure? The governor clearly believes these initiatives will strengthen governance and improve service delivery. His supporters may argue that it is never too late to make necessary appointments or introduce reforms. That argument deserves consideration.
“However, politics is also about priorities. Governor Alia is seeking a second term in office under circumstances many observers consider politically challenging. The APC in Benue State remains divided into competing blocs, and reconciliation efforts continue at various levels. Public dissatisfaction persists in some quarters, while expectations remain high across the state.
“In such a situation, one would have expected the governor to devote considerable energy to political reconciliation, stakeholder engagement and bridge-building. Mending fences with aggrieved political actors, consolidating support among party faithful and strengthening relationships with critical constituencies could arguably have a more immediate impact on his political future than creating new committees and agencies.
“This is not an argument against governance. Neither is it a criticism of the individuals appointed. Rather, it is a question of sequencing and timing. Good governance requires not only making the right decisions but making them at the right time. The challenge before Governor Alia is whether these appointments represent a strategic intervention that should have come in 2023, or whether they can still deliver meaningful results in the limited time remaining before voters once again pass judgment on his administration. That is a question only time and ultimately the electorate will answer”
Shija critically raised concerns about the timing, noting that Governor Alia would have done well if he constituted the Team immediately he took over as governor in 2023.
His words: “Governor Alia secured the APC governorship ticket in 2022 and was elected governor in 2023. Between his emergence as candidate and his inauguration on May 29, 2023, he had ample opportunity to assemble a governing team and develop a strategic roadmap for his administration.
“Today, nearly three years into his tenure, Benue State is approaching another governorship election cycle. Depending on the electoral timetable, the state is barely months away from another major political contest, while the governor himself has less than a year left in his current tenure. This raises an important question: why are some of these critical structures being established now”