Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State have condemned the worsening insecurity in the state resulting in wanton killings of innocent citizens, the latest of which occurred in Otukpo-Nobi, in the Benue-South Senatorial District.

 

They, therefore, called for leadership change, owing to the manifest inability of Governor Hyacinth Alia to muster the courage to challenge the situation.

 

Speaking in Abuja while answering questions on “One Benue, One Direction Hang Out with Journalists”, a Chieftain of the APC, Hon. Timothy Hembaor, lamented that insecurity in Benue is spiralling out of control because the Governor failed to accept that there are killings in the state.

 

Hembaor lamented that Alia had allegedly repealed the the Anti-Grazing law that was in place before his elections, and confiscated the enforcement vehicles and converted them for commercial transportation purposes.

 

“We are an agricultural state. How are we going to support our farmers to become extension agricultural farmers? Is the present government willing to support farmers? Is our land safe? I tell you it is not. The Alia administration is not going about the issue of security with sincerity,” he further alleged.

 

“Hostilities against our people now have grown many times more than what obtained prior to Alia becoming Governor, and it is getting worse, with the potential of going completely out of control should he be re-elected for second term,” he stated.

 

Also speaking, APC Legal Adviser in the Benue-South (Zone C) Barr. Napoleon Otache, lamented that the entire Zone C is under siege by Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers and bandits.

 

“There are active threats going on in all parts of Zone C from terrorists. Governor Alia refers to them as foreigners, so I agree. But they pose a very latent threat of terrorism, yet the governor does not treat it as such. As big urban centre as Otukpo is, once it is 4 p.m. the town shuts down.

 

“The economy is crippled. People no longer go to farm in Otukpo and environs. You stay at home and wait for the worst that could happen. You can be in your house and still be killed” Otache lamented.

 

He criticised the governor for not showing commitment or readiness to protect lives and property in the state, noting that it is becoming obvious he lacks ideas on how to deal with the situation that has put the state under siege, pushing residents into poverty and hopelessness.

 

Calling in on the programme from Makurdi, Comrade A. Adams, said to rescue Benue from insecurity, the current leadership of the state must be changed.

 

He explained that Alia did not believe he has a security crisis, saying “he has denied it many times openly, while people are dying and displaced from their homes on a daily basis all over the state, so how can he proffer solutions to what he does not think exist.”

 

Stakeholders who spoke on the programme believe that the insecurity in the Benue state will get worse if the Governor is re-elected.