Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia of the Catholic Church in Benue has declared to contest the gubernatorial seat of Benue State.
This is coming about 30 years after his late senior colleague, late Rev Father Moses Orshio Adasu governed the state until the November 1993 coup d’etat led by late Gen Sani Abacha terminated his governorship.
Adasu who died on November 20, 2005, was sworn in as Benue State governor on January 2, 1992.
However, Father Alia who is vying for governor of Benue under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) has promised to surpass the achievements of Father Adasu, informing Benue citizens that if he is sworn as governor in 2023, he will not only reinvent and revitalize the state Benue, but will introduce social justice as well as divine blessings to the rich agricultural state in his 7-point agenda.
Meanwhile, Father Alia project has continued to attract support and goodwill from Benue citizens at home and in the Diaspora as people said for corruption will take a flight in Benue, if a man of God in the standing of Fr Alia becomes governor of North Central State.
One of such supports came from a group called Alia Support Group Worldwide whose President, Steve Dzakpe urged the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs Senator George Akume to support the emergence of Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 elections in Benue state.
In a statement made available to our Reporter in Makurdi on Thursday and signed by President, Alia Support Group worldwide, Steve Dzakpe, noted that Akume’s love for the state should be a motivating factor for him to ensure that Alia becomes the next governor of the state.
He also advised the people of the state to support Senator Akume who is the leader of the party in Benue for his sacrifices over the years, which has brought about some of the modest achievements recorded so far.
While he stated that Alia would not fail the Benue people, if given the opportunity to serve as governor, he was of the view that Alia would foster unity and usher in a regime of unprecedented development in Benue.
Dzapke said, “We strongly believe that if Fr. Alia gets the party’s (APC) ticket the people will overwhelmingly vote for him across party lines during the polls.
“We have many reasons to believe that our leader (Akume) as a man of the people, who also has the fear of God in him, will do everything possible to end the sufferings of the Benue people; supporting Rev. Fr. Alia is one sure way of achieving this.
“And in view of his resolve to give the Benue people what they want. We urge him to support the governorship aspiration of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia.
“We believe that Rev. Fr. Alia on his part will not disappoint the people when given the ticket and eventually elected. As a real man of God, he will deliver on his campaign promises.
“Benue needs Fr. Alia to foster unity and usher in a regime of unprecedented development that will be a clear departure from the usual antics of seasoned politicians who hardly fulfil their campaign promises. He is a not like regular politicians.
“We need Fr Alia to salvage the situation. He stands for the truth, and will take us to the promised land”, he argued.
On the other hand, while Dzapke commended the steadfastness of Senator Akume over the time, he called on the people of the state to hold him (Akume) in high regard for his sacrifices to the state.
The president of the group, observed that “Following political developments in our dear state, it has become very important to commend our leader, Sen. George Akume for his steadfastness all this while, and willingness to continue to steer the ship of Benue politics.
“It has also become pertinent to appreciate him (Akume) for his sacrifices over the years that have resulted in the little achievements recorded in the state since the return of democracy in 1999”.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
