By Amos Aar
BENUE State governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, on Thursday inaugurated Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Joseph Alakali, Chief of Staff (CoS), Hon. Paul Biam, and Head of Service (HoS), Dr Moses Agbogbo Ode.
The three top government functionaries sworn in by Fr. Alia at Government House, Makurdi are in addition to two others appointed by the governor, including Chief Press Secretary to the governor (CPS), Tersoo Kula, and Private Principal Secretary to the Governor (PPS), Dr Emmanuel Chenge.
National Record gathered that the SSG hails from Kwande LGA, CoS, Ukum LGA, HoS, Obi LGA, CPS, Ushongo LGA while the PPS is from Gboko LGA.
Reacting to the appointments and swearing in of the first three major appointees, Adah Pila from Ohimini LGA said, Governor Alia has failed to fulfil his promise during electioneering campaigns to appoint an Idoma person as SSG.
He said: “As a Reverend Father, you have to stick to your words. But we have no option because Tiv people are more populated than us”.
Although commissioners and speaker of the State House of Assembly are yet to be appointed and elected respectively, Pila preempted that the position of the speaker and other important slots will still be given to Tiv people.
“Governor is from the Tiv speaking area, Speaker is Tiv and SSG is Tiv. They are the ones ruling. The only key position which is SSG that the Idoma people thought they would be given has been denied them. That’s why everywhere was quiet. If they said they should nominate a minister now, they will still nominate a Tiv person,” he predicted.
Another Idoma son and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who hails from Otukpo local government where the current deputy governor, Sam Ode, comes from, spoke to National Record on condition anonymity because of his position in the party.
He said: “Honestly, we are not happy with the sharing formula because during his campaign at St Mary’s Primary School here [Otukpo], [he had said] when he comes to power, he will shift the position of SSG to Idoma land, but still, he has taken it to the Tiv-speaking area. So, Idoma people are not happy over it.
“He has not done anything bad so far. But that promise; as a Reverend Father, he should have kept to that promise”.
