The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Benue State chapter, has accused Governor Hyacinth Alia of flagrant breach of the Benue State Public Procurement Law, BPP Law and Financial Instructions.
The opposition party accused him of alleged suspension of constitutional rule in the State.
The party in Makurdi also alleged that the Governor, through deliberate actions is presiding over a dictatorship which should be resisted by all people of good conscience.
All efforts to get the state government’s reaction were unsuccessful.
Several calls to the Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to Governor Alia, Tersoo Kula, were unanswered, while text message to his phone was responded to at the time of this report.
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PDP, however, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, among others, lamented that after “Governor Alia announced the award of contracts for the construction of 16 township roads in Makurdi the sum for which he did not disclose, but which obviously runs into billions of Naira, by current cost standards.
“This is in addition to a contract earlier awarded by the governor for the renovation of the State Assembly Complex, the sum for which he also did not disclose but which should be in the region of N1 billion. After 71 days in office, Governor Alia had not even forwarded names of nominees for appointment into a cabinet as commissioners or Advisers, this too is in gross violation of Section 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended by the Fifth Alteration No. 23 of 2023) which demands that he submit names of nominees for screening and confirmation as commissioners to be appointed into his cabinet within 60 days of his taking oath of office.
“And since assumption of office on May 29 2023, up to this moment, the governor has placed all financial accounts of the state government in various banks under a state of freeze, and he alone makes withdrawals from and closes them as he deems fit. By the award of those contracts yesterday, the Benue State Governor has violated provisions of Benue State Financial Instructions which state unambiguously in Chapter 23, Section 2305 that the spending limit and approval permitted the governor in respect of contracts shall, in all requests not exceed N50million.
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“Furthermore, the procedure for processing biddings for contracts for subsequent awards to qualified contractors is laid down elaborately in the Benue State Public Procurement Law and involves the mandatory participation of a State Executive Council, which the governor has up to this moment failed to constitute.
“PDP understands that Governor Alia is inclined to discharging the business of government as a sole administrator, a despot, a dictator, under a system not regulated by due process and rule of law, but which permits him unlimited powers.
“This, our great party will lead the charge in resisting through all lawful means, to safeguard the sanctity of the democratic system of government which is in practice in Nigeria and Benue State.
“PDP will resist the budding dictatorship being incubated by Governor Alia in Benue State.”