Ugboju attack: Gov Alia running Benue like a Church – Abba Moro

Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Benue South, Abba Moro, has accused Governor Hyacinth Alia of running Benue State like a church where all decisions are dictated by one person.

Moro made the remark on Tuesday during his appearance on Democracy Today, a programme on the African Independent Television (AIT), while assessing governance in Benue State.

According to the lawmaker, Governor Alia has concentrated authority in his office, leaving commissioners and other political appointees with little or no decision-making powers.

“If these people are angry with him, if people are not happy with him, as a leader, it is his duty to call people and say, ‘Look, this is our state. Let’s build it together,'” Moro said.

He added, “People look at Benue State as a church, as a pulpit where instructions come from only one person.”

The senator further alleged that the governor has assumed responsibilities that ordinarily belong to other government officials.

“Governor Alia is the Accountant General of Benue State. He’s the Finance Commissioner of Benue State. He’s the Commissioner for Works in Benue State,” he said.

Moro challenged members of the public to assess the level of authority exercised by government appointees.

“Conduct a discreet survey and see whether these appointees have anything to do,” he said.

The former Interior Minister cited his visits to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps as examples of what he described as the administration’s failure to empower public officials.

He recalled that during one visit, a commissioner pledged only ₦150,000 to three IDP camps.

“I told the Honourable Commissioner, ‘If all you want to spend is ₦150,000, come privately.’ I went and gave him the money because it was an emergency,” Moro said.

According to him, the incident demonstrated that commissioners were not adequately empowered to respond to emergencies.

He also recounted another visit to an IDP camp where the Deputy Governor allegedly pledged ₦1 million to soldiers responding to attacks.

“The Deputy Governor doesn’t have ₦1,000,000 to spend. That is a pathetic situation in the state,” he said.

Moro further claimed that while other states were procuring vehicles, security equipment and other logistics for security agencies, Benue had failed to provide similar support under the current administration.