Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has said he does not have any problem with his leader and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
Alia stated this on Saturday during his maiden media interaction with journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital.
Naija News understands that there are speculations that the relationship between Akume and the governor is strained because of his choice of Chief of Staff and Secretary to the State Government.
But according to the governor, he has no single problem or crisis with Akume, adding that the former governor is his leader and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North Central.
He said: “I don’t have any crisis with the SGF. He is my leader and the leader of the APC in the State and the Zone. People are creating their perceived crisis where there is no crisis.
“As a State, we made plans to welcome him home but the entire North Central Zone, including the FCT, said they want to be part of it so the plans are on the way,” the governor stated.
The Governor also expressed shock that some people in the State accused him of choosing the leadership of the State Assembly, explaining that he did not know anything about it.
“I’m amazed that you said I chose the leadership of the State Assembly. I did not. I’m a Catholic Priest, and we are trained to be at least trusted.”
The governor said he had started the renovation of the State House of Assembly and the State Secretariat since his assumption of office, which were all in very bad shape.
Alia said he discovered 2,500 ghost workers in the first phase of staff verification and payroll audit for teachers and staff of local governments, which has saved the State N1.2 billion.
The governor also said his administration was committed to peacebuilding and the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the State.
He said that upon assumption of office, he stopped all forms of illegal mining and multiple taxation, among others, for an efficient and effective business environment.
Alia disclosed that a few minutes after taking his oath of office, he froze all State accounts because people wanted to short-change the State, adding that some of them are still frozen because he is yet to go through them.
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