By National Record
THE EVENTS that unfolded in the Benue State House of Assembly on Tuesday represent a stunning and overt consolidation of executive power, effectively transforming the legislative arm into a rubber stamp for Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The swift confirmation of previously rejected commissioner-nominees and the summary suspension of the former Speaker, Hon. Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh, reveal a political bulldozing operation that sidesteps due process and legislative integrity.
The Assembly’s confirmation of Dr Timothy Yangien Ornguga and Mr. James Dwen, just days after their rejection over serious allegations of abuse, embezzlement, and contractual misconduct, signals a complete capitulation to the executive.
The confirmation of the duo was done alongside Hon. Tiza Imojime, a former Commissioner for Works, Housing and Urban Development, whose screening had earlier been deferred.
It could be recalled that Hon. Imojime’s earlier screening was delayed following allegations that he refused several times to appear before the Assembly to answer questions on contracts executed under his watch as Commissioner for Works, Housing and Urban Development.
It must be pointed, and very sadly too, that a Reverend Gentleman whose rise to power was on account of being a man of God and therefore expected to fear God, that Reverend Father Alia has developed this troubling pattern of ignoring public outcry and official disapproval. A source who had told this paper while it was doing its detailed report on the petitions against Dr Ornguga has been proved right on a major character flaw of the governor when he had said he expected him to once again force through the controversial appointment of Dr. Ornguga.
The elderly source said his prediction is evidenced by Governor Alia’s previous insistence on appointing the scandal-plagued Dr Aondona Mkor as Special Adviser on Archives, Research and Documentation, a man who was fired by then Benue State University for alleged serial rape, and now under an EFCC probe, and Dr Vincent Gisaor as BSIEC chairman, who was publicly condemned for hurling a deeply offensive ethnic insult at Tiv people.
Governor Alia has not just bulldozed his way; he has demonstrated that with a compliant legislature, the power of the executive is now absolute, and oversight is a mere formality. The Assembly is no longer a house of scrutiny but a real rubber stamp, and democracy in Benue State is significantly weaker for it, as we grind slowly but surely towards 2027.
The source, along with other critics, had dismiss the petitions against Orguga as futile, arguing that the governor’s history shows a blatant disregard for ethical scrutiny and due process and that his (governor’s) record demonstrates that the outcome of these allegations is predetermined, resting solely with Alia himself, rendering the protests and even the State Assembly’s disapproval utterly ineffective.
How True!
Indeed, the House Majority Leader’s justification, that the governor “believes in them” and that “accusations are not convictions,” is a legally hollow argument that ignores the Assembly’s constitutional duty to screen based on “character and public trust.”
The message is very clear and loud: Governor Alia’s insistence overrules the House’s scrutiny and valid concerns of citizens via petitions. For being the Speaker when this legislative oversight was carried out, Hon. Aondona Dajoh had to be butted out of the speakership and an emergency sitting summoned on a Sunday, of all days, to pick a pliable replacement, who, two days later, suspended him (Dajoh) for three months.
The fact that the nominees were Alia’s personal picks, and Dr Ornguga is a blood relation (a nephew) of the Tor Tiv, the Paramount Ruler of Tiv Nation, also raises disturbing questions about the influence of nepotism and traditional power structures in this reversal.
Also very concerning is the suspension of Hon. Dajoh for an alleged plot to impeach the governor. This was executed with a blatant disregard for democratic procedure, as attested to by Hon. Saater Tiseer, the Majority Leader, who admitted that there was no vote, no trial, and no presentation of proof. This is damning!
Hon. Tiseer’s statement that “the person who moved the motion has the proofs” while the House acted without seeing them reduces the legislature to a forum for hearsay and character assassination. Speaker Alfred Emberga Berger’s arbitrary reduction of the suspension via gavel, rather than through debate or voting, underscores the absence of due process. This action has all the hallmarks of a political purge designed to eliminate a dissenting voice with the courage to hold the governor to account.
Expectedly, Dajoh’s media aide, Terver Zamber, has denied the allegations as false and politically-motivated. He stated that the suspension was a political manoeuvre, noting that the House had passed a vote of confidence in the governor under Dajoh’s leadership. He also clarified that Dajoh resigned for the sake of peace and in the state’s best interest as he urged the public to disregard the claims.
No doubt, the combination of events – the rejection of the commissioner-nominees, the insistence by the Dajoh-led House that Governor Alia must comply with the Assembly’s resolutions to suspend some public officials, and indeed, some unseen but perceived political tensions and undercurrents permeating the state – cannot be divorced from the ongoing unfortunate disruptions culminating in the installation of a new Speaker, Hon. Berger, who was himself only just reinstated from suspension.
The speed and coordination of these moves suggest a pre-planned executive strategy to neutralise opposition within the Assembly. The new leadership’s immediate compliance with the governor’s demands is eloquent testimony that the House is now under the unshakable grip of Governor Alia.
The ultimate ramifications of these cascade of events indicate the obvious – that the Benue State House of Assembly has unconditionally surrendered its role as an independent arm of government. It has approved nominees it deemed unfit, based solely on the governor’s whims, and it has suspended one of its own based on unsubstantiated allegations without a shred of transparent process.
Governor Alia has not just bulldozed his way; he has demonstrated that with a compliant legislature, the power of the executive is now absolute, and oversight is a mere formality. The Assembly is no longer a house of scrutiny but a real rubber stamp, and democracy in Benue State is significantly weaker for it, as we grind slowly but surely towards 2027.
