Governor Alia accused of arming youths
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has been accused of arming youths in the state, following the breakout of political violence on Saturday. The state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress–the governor’s party–made the accusation.
Daniel Ihomun, state publicity secretary of the APC, alleged that Governor Alia’s supporters barricaded the road to party’s secretariat to stop a political appointee, Dr. Mathias Byuan, from accessing the place.
Byuan is said to be in the state on working visit, and with him at the time of the violence was Austin Agada, the embattled state party chairman. Governor Alia’s loyalists had suspended Agada and chosen a replacement. The national secretariat of the party however upturned the decision.
The party said that “the governor’s thugs (were) along the Tito gate brandishing dangerous weapons and attacking members of the party.”
The party sees the act “as a very desperate and pedestrian outing by the governor highly unbecoming of the Chief Executive Officer of a state.”
In a counter, Governor Alia, through his chief press secretary, Tersoo Kula, made similar accusation against Agada.
“We have received intelligence reports that the suspended state Chairman of the APC in Benue State, Austin Agada and the Executive Director, Finance and Accounts at the Federal Housing Authority, Mr. Mathias Byuan have hired armed men into Benue State to shatter the relative peace in Benue State,” he said.
“This is against the directive of the governor that all political gatherings in the state be suspended due to the volatile security situation in the state. But shockingly, the armed men who accompanied Agada and Byuan reportedly made their way into the heart of the town in a convoy and started shooting sporadically when they got to Tito Gate, Kashim Ibrahim road, Makurdi.
“The duo led the armed men round parts of the old GRA and were headed to property number 75, J S Tarka way said to be owned by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume when the Nigerian police arrived and began to engage them before they dispersed.
“Recall that Governor Hyacinth Alia had banned all political and social gatherings in the state till further notice.
