By Amos Aar
BENUE State governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, and members of his cabinet were all absent during the homecoming reception held in honour of Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who arrived Benue on Saturday ahead of his 70th birthday anniversary and Christmas celebrations in the state.
While there was no indication that the governor was out of the state and therefore unable to personally receive the SGF, neither were there any information as to absence of the Deputy Governor, Sam Ode, and other members of the cabinet to welcome Senator Akume and his entourage.
Efforts to speak to the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alia, Tersoo Kula, failed as his lines were said not to be available.
Although state leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had invited members of the party and the general public for an honorific town procession at City Bay, Makurdi on Saturday, December 23, 2023 as it was the first homecoming of the SGF since he was appointed as SGF in June, 2023.
National Record gathered that the absence of Governor Alia and his cabinet at both the Airport and City Bay to receive Senator Akume was due to the ongoing crisis between the duo.
Although Governor Alia had at his first media parley at Government House, Makurdi on August 6, 2023, debunked rumours of a rift between him and his supposed godfather, Senator Akume.
He then disclosed plans by his government to organise a homecoming reception for the SGF to honour him as North Central leader of the APC.
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“Sen. Akume is the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North-Central. He is my leader and the leader of APC in the state and the Zone. People are creating their perceived crisis where there is none. As a state, we made plans to welcome him home but the entire North Central Zone, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said they want to be part of it so the plans are on the way. I am a Catholic priest, we were trained to be trusted”, Alia had told journalists.
On Friday, his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Tirsoo Kula, however, inadvertently confirmed the rift when he castigated federal lawmakers from Benue State who had accused Governor Alia of alleged dictatorial tendencies, poor performance and disrespect for the party’s stakeholders.
“We heard very loud the vicious intent of the sponsor of such a malicious press conference from his messengers,” Kula said.
Kula insinuated that the federal lawmakers were incapable of winning elections assisted by the popularity of his principal symbolized in the “Yes Father” slogan to ride to victory.
“It is quite ironic that Senator Titus Zam, who could not win elections in his ward and local government, but only got saved by the popularity of the “Yes Father” movement in the two major towns of (Makurdi and Gboko) for the Benue North West Senatorial District election, led this infamous group not to discuss issues that will bring more development to the state, but to descend on the governor by consistently referring to him during the press conference in a demeaning manner.
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“It is even more laughable when Zam and his co-travellers insinuated that Rev. Fr. Alia came into “a stronger” APC for the election” “But suffice to ask, when the Saint, who is also a Maitama drummer and orchestrator of the macabre music and his cohorts had pompously danced and campaigned for the same party in 2019, what was the outcome? Have they forgotten that the party barely managed to get one National Assembly seat out of 14? The party also got less than four out of 30 members in the Benue State House of Assembly?”, Kula said among other mocking comments on the federal lawmakers.
