As suspension of LGA chairmen raises dust in Benue

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

There is no gainsaying that the new Governor of Benue State Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia seems to be settling down to work, as he has embarked on demolishing and dismounting every structure set up by his predecessor, Governor Samuel Ortom, barely a month after.
Also, Fr. Alia stirred the hornet by commencing probe of the immediate past Governor Ortom by constituting a committee known as probe, Assets Recovery for both State local government property and Benue State University, BSU facts finding Committees
The committees are, among other things, mandated to ascertain all assets of the government including lands, vehicles, houses, furniture and other machinery. And to accord seriousness to the job of the committee, they are to have able representatives from; Department of State Security, the Police, the Military and Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
While inaugurating the committees which has a 2-month time frame to submit its report at Government House on Thursday 22nd, 2023, Governor Alia emphasized that there is need to take stock for accountability of all govt property, maintaining that his government is not embarking on an exercise to witch hunt but that it is the right thing to so as to ascertain the government assets.
He decried the manner in which a large number of government vehicles were converted to personal use and several other assets believed to have been carried away towards the end of the previous administration.
“Your assignment is to recover all government assets that were illegally taken away from the State. “You are to recover all assets that are in the wrong hands. To ascertain all assets of the government removed wrongly, disposed of or sold off.
“I urge the citizens of Benue to restore hope in the government and make them live meaningful lives. The involvement of security agencies to tap from their professionalism to this sensitive assignment”, the Governor stated.
As expected, the Constitution of the probe committee did not go that well with the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) who tackled the Governor for his action. And the Party, in a statement on Monday 12th June, 2023 signed by its Publicity Secretary Bemgba Iortyom and made available to the media, condemned the move as one in a series of ‘administrative missteps’ taken by Governor Alia.
It also expressed worry that such action reflects a trend which has seen the governor place one wrong step after another since assumption of office, with most of his policy decisions so far being knee jerk and lacking in depth of thought.
“PDP sees underlying this a level of inexperience and lack of vision never before seen in the office of Governor of the state.
“We worry that Governor Alia is primarily getting his priorities wrong such that he sees an assets recovery mission as more important than an audit of the work force of the state with which he will be working to run his administration.
“By what parameter did he decide on a sack of thousands of state workers without undertaking a preliminary audit of the civil service? What are the terms of reference of the asset recovery committees, what are the timeliness to their assignments and by what modalities are they to recover such assets?
“Under what subsisting law did the governor constitute a fact-finding committee to the Benue State University which is covered in its regulation by an establishment law? The Benue State University Law, (CAP 15 LAWS OF BENUE STATE, 2004) provides for the administration of the university and under no part of the law therewith, can it be found a place for such a fact-finding committee as constituted by Mr. Governor.
“As Visitor to the University, the governor can empanel a Visitation Panel which alone will have cover of law to pore into the books of the university, certainly not a committee made up of politicians. PDP urges Governor Alia to come to terms with the fact that the task of governing Benue is an arduous one which demands deliberate approaches to policy formulation and execution, and not the sort of haphazard and reactionary steps he has so far taken.
“Governing Benue is certainly an ocean apart from making sweeping, flowery campaign promises of turning the state into “heaven on earth”, Bemgba stated.
Just when the opposition tried to breath hard on the Governor over his decisions and actions, they did not know that a tornado and hurricane was in the offing. The instant suspension of all 23 councils’ chairmen who are of PDP extraction.
Interestingly, this is just a playback of what the APC did in 2015 when Ortom emerged as Governor. It could be recalled that on assumption of office, Ortom had dissolved the local government council and constituted a caretaker committee.
Thus, following a similar laid down precedence, the 10th House of Assembly directed the suspension of leadership at the third of government in the State.
It was gathered that the governor had on 14th June, 2023, through his Chief of Staff, Paul Biam, originated a correspondence to the State Assembly purporting same to be a report of an investigation into the income and expenditures of the local government councils in the state from February to April 2023, requesting the Assembly to investigate and make necessary recommendation on the report.
The report of the income and expenditure was then submitted to the House on 20th June 2023 by the Governor. The Findings showed that on receipt of the report, the House constituted a three (3) man committee headed by Peter Ipusu representing Katsina West State Constituency to take a critical look at the report.
While submitting its report during the plenary on Wednesday, Ipusu said the committee considered the report and reverted to the House for further action.
According to him, the committee considered the report in line with the Financial Memorandum of the Local Government and other extant rules governing the management of funds in the Local Government in Benue state.
He said the committee is worried by the outright disregard to procedure and crass mismanagement of Local Government funds for the period under review.
“The Committee wishes to further inform the House that there is a need for a more detailed investigation of the operations of the local government beyond the period under review to cover from June 2015 to May 2023.
“The House is requested to note that section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) gives the House of Assembly the right to legislate on matters concerning the Local Government and also authorized the State House of Assembly to perform oversight functions over the Local Government”, he said.
While praying the Governor to proceed to set up caretaker committees in line with the Benue State Local Government law, the committee also urged the House to extend the period of review to cover for the entire tenure of the out-gone administration (June 2015 to May 2023).
It added that in order to conduct the review without any interference, the committee recommended the immediate suspension of Executive Council Chairmen in all the 23 local government councils, and the legislative councils for conniving with the Executive Councils to mismanage public funds put in their trust.
The Committee therefore, recommended the suspension of the 23 local government area chairmen pending the completion of investigation into their books of accounts and other related matters. The Chairmen were directed to hand over the affairs of the Local Government Councils, all government properties in their possession, including official vehicles, to the DGSAs with immediate effect just as the Commissioner of Police was requested to ensure a seamless takeover at the various Local Government Councils Headquarters without any friction.
The action of the APC government once again has caught the ire of the PDP who tagged it governor Alia’s insistence on impunity, contempt of court an invitation to anarchy
Reacting to the development in a press statement, Publicity Secretary of the party Bemgba Iortyom described it as a coup d’etat, accusing the Governor of working in a medley of confusion with the All Progressives Congress (APC) led House of Assembly.
He alluded that series of steps which may only be likened to the macabre dance of those drunken with power, the governor had on 14th June, 2023, through his Chief of Staff, Paul Biam, originated a correspondence to the State Assembly purporting same to be a report of an investigation into the income and expenditures of the local government councils in the state from February to April 2023, requesting the Assembly to investigate and make necessary recommendation on the report.
The Party said the legislative House executing its own steps in this choreography of the absurd had brought the correspondence from the governor to the floor of the House and on 20th June, 2023 and mandated a 3-man committee to investigate it and report back to the House within 2 weeks.
“But the 3-man committee didn’t even need a day to execute its own plot as yesterday, 21st June, 2023, barely 24 hours after it was back on the floor of the House with a report which made mockery of even the shallowest pretentions to decorum and due process; the committee needed barely an hour to investigate each of the 23 local government councils, after which it recommended as follows: “That the span of the investigation be broadened from February to April 2023 to cover June 2022 to June 2023; that the governor should order the sacking of the 23 council chairmen for mismanagement of the finances of the councils and the legislatures of same councils as well for conniving and being complicit in the said mismanagement of the finances of those councils.
“ The State Assembly, in shocking display of impunity merged with desperation, then overreached itself by at the same time taking upon itself the powers to actually sack the councils without waiting for the governor to carry out their recommendations, as they ordered the council chairmen to handover the administration and instruments thereto, including all properties and official vehicles of the various councils in their possession to the Directors General, Service and Administration (DGSAs) and proceeded on suspension.
“ The legislative House also sought to enforce its coup d’etat at the third tier of government by enlisting the services of the Nigerian Police Force which they called upon to take over the secretariats of the various councils and called on the governor to set up caretaker committees to run the affairs of the councils.
“This is the situation we have found ourselves in Benue State today under the reign of Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Benue State House of Assembly whose leadership he only recently fought tooth and nail to hijack”.
It adds that “It is the position of our great party that “There is a subsisting order of a court of competent jurisdiction through a perpetual injunction which in effect bars the Benue State Government from taking any action, punitive or of the like, as seeks to tamper with the tenure of those duly elected councils at the local government tier of administration in the state, and government is not even known to have appealed against that judgement of the court.
“As such it amounts to the height of impunity and exhibition of contempt of court and a brazen disregard for the rule of law for Governor Alia to be acting in this manner regarding the local government councils in the state, and this the party deems as not only shameful and reprehensible but also repugnant to natural justice.
“ Governor Alia had made vociferous promises during the campaigns to grant autonomy to the local government councils, but just days after his assumption of office, we see him acting to the contrary as his present actions at that tier of administration is purely suggestive he is in a hurry to hand over the councils to his cronies as part of the booty which has come to them from the 2023 elections.
“The Commissioner of Police, Benue State Police Command, should steer clear of and not be complicit in the coup d’etat which Governor Alia and his puppets in the Benue State House of Assembly are seeking to execute at the third tier of government in the state.
“Benue people should hold Governor Alia and the leadership of the Benue State House of Assembly responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the various local government areas of the state resulting from the illegality being perpetrated against the local government council administrations which were duly elected and sworn into office with a definite tenure of mandate.”
Nevertheless, Governor Alia must lift himself above the low levels of allegiance to a little band of cronies who are intent on perpetrating a reign of impunity and lawlessness for self-seeking objectives, to the detriment of the state and its people who desire an atmosphere of peace, law and order under which they may carry out their daily businesses.
Benue people view PDP’s incessant bickering as early distraction even as they urge the Governor to remain focused on the task of governance. According to a public commentator, Godwin Anchaver, there is the need for the Governor to cleanse the system so as to start on a right footing to deliver good governance to the people.
Anchaver cautioned the Governor against dwelling so much on the rot he may have met and hit the ground running by keeping to his words of paying workers salary and appointing credible and competent persons into his cabinet.