The Defenders of Democracy (DoD), a pro-democracy group, has issued a stark warning to Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, accusing him of losing control over state security amidst escalating insecurity.
In a statement signed by its President, Amos Uchiv, and released to journalists on Friday, the group criticised Governor Alia’s handling of the security crisis, calling for his resignation if he cannot effectively address the rampant insecurity plaguing the state.
The group lambasted Governor Alia’s recent ban on political gatherings, labelling it a diversionary tactic to mask his failure to tackle the security challenges facing the state.
Gov Alia bans political gatherings in Benue over worsening security crisis
They argued that despite receiving substantial security funds monthly, Governor Alia has failed to utilise these resources to quell the wave of attacks on the populace.
The statement read: “Governor Alia’s announcement of a ban on political gatherings is a clear admission of failure and an invitation for a State of Emergency to be declared in Benue State.
“Governor Alia’s statement is a crass admittance of failure and an invitation for a State of Emergency to be declared in Benue State. Alia has clearly demonstrated his ineptitude and incompetence in running the state.
“How does stopping political gatherings translate to addressing the security situation in the state? Is politics done on people’s farms where armed herders have been destroying crops? What have the children, women and other vulnerable people who are being killed in the communities got to do with political gatherings?
“Governor Alia has, by his pronouncement, admitted that the security situation in his state has overwhelmed him. He doesn’t have answers to the Fulani invasion. He is talking about peaceful coexistence with Fulani and at the same time asking them to vacate the state within two weeks. What a contradiction!
“We must remind Governor Alia that Benue people voted for him to protect them, not to be flying in private jets across the world and spending their money on wasteful personal luxuries like buying expensive cars, buying houses in choice locations in Makurdi, Abuja, Lagos, the United States etc. He promised us that he would provide good governance, but what we have so far seen is a misfit in power.
“We condemn the ban on political gatherings by the governor and urge him to rescind the decision to avoid heating the polity unnecessarily. We are in a democracy, not a dictatorship!”
Benue: We are not in dictatorship – Group knocks Alia over ban on political gatherings
