Cephas Iorhemen 
…Links faulty start to lack of administrative exposure, political experience
The Benue State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday scored the take-off of Governor Hyacinth Alia so far as abysmally low and indeed worse as compared to that of his predecessors: George Akume, Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom.
The party linked the ‘faulty beginning’ of the Governor Alia-led All Progressive Congress (APC) administration in the state to a “lack of administrative exposure and political experience”.
The party in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Bemgba Iortyom that since the return of democratic rule in the country, the state had never witnessed such a wobbly take-off.
The PDP stressed that “the governor’s credit so far has been a half-hearted attempt at the payment of wages to workers which, however, excluded the entire local government workers, staff of the Benue State University (BSU), primary school teachers and staff under Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) as well as secondary school teachers and staff under the Teaching Service Board (TSB)”.
“What this means is that roughly about 70% of the workforce of the state went unpaid from the governor’s much-hyped gesture which it is even unclear from which source he funded the exercise that has since been dismissed as a mere popularity stunt.
“Governor Alia can also within this period be seen getting increasingly entangled in a self-spurn Webb of supremacy battles with stakeholders and leaders of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as poking his fingers into just about everything controversial including even direct involvement in the politics of transport unions in the state.
“By contrast, George Akume as Governor in 1999 had by this time, stamped the welfarism paradigm of his administration which targeted to revive a people pathetically impoverished by decades of military dictatorship, as was encapsulated in the maxim “Reviving The People To Strength Before Teaching Them To Fish”.
“After only a month in office, it was clear to see that Akume was deployed to good effect his experience and exposure as a thoroughbred civil servant and politician who knew very well the Benue terrain and possessed the right levels of social connect within that terrain.
“Gabriel Suswam as Governor was effectively by the one month mark on top of his game in the infrastructure drive of his administration set to work on the transformation of Makurdi the capital city with the building of grade A asphalt roads and streets with pavements and walkways.
“By the time he was a month old in office, Gabriel Suswam was well on the way to earning for himself the deserved title of “Mr Infrastructure” which was conferred on him by national journalists for his massive impact in the area of infrastructural linkages across the state in his first 100 days in office.
“As Governor, Samuel Ortom by the first month had identified as a cardinal objective of his administration the need to straighten the inherited accounts of government and this, he set out doing with a focus that saw the empanelling of Commissions of Inquiry with clearcut status under the law and operational guide.
“By the time the Ortom administration was a month in office, its identified task of setting straight the records and accounts of government was pretty much set and rolling towards attaining the set objectives, and equally profound was his bringing to bear his wealth of experience as a seasoned politician to achieving harmony within his party, a feat which is a prerequisite for the smooth take-off and functionality of an administration.
“Governor Alia after a month in office ranks by far the worst compared to all of his three predecessors, and this PDP observes may not be unconnected with the governor’s lack of administrative exposure and political experience prior to his coming to power”.
The party urged Governor Alia to rise to the occasion and face up to the reality that governance and flowery campaign promises are worlds apart, and to henceforth talk less and do more for the good of the state.
