From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Benue State government has said that Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District, Sen Abba Moro, lied and misled the Nigerian Senate concerning the true state of leadership at the Local Governments in the state.
The Chief Press Secretary, (CPS), to the Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, made this observation while briefing newsmen in reaction to the motion raised by Sen. Abba Moro at the National Assembly alleging that his boss, Governor Hyacinth Alia, sack democratically elected LG chairmen.
Recall that few days after Benue State government constituted caretaker committees for the 23 LGAs in the state to replace the incumbents who were suspended, investigated and sacked after they were found guilty over allegations of fraud, Sen. Moro raised a motion at the plenary of the National Assembly condemning the exercise.
This further prompted the Senate to urge the federal government to stop statutory allocation of funds to LG councils ran by caretakers.
Worried by Sen. Moro’s outing, the Benue State government has called on the Senate to rescind their call as they acted in error after being misled and lied to.
In his text titled “Delusiveness on the State of LGA in Benue State – How Abba Moro lied to the Senate and Nigeria,” Kula said: “A Few days ago, the Senator representing Benue South, Senator Abba Moro misled the red Chambers by feeding her with barefaced lies and unfounded insinuations concerning the true state of Local Government System leadership in Benue State.
“Moro, in ostentatious equanimity, manipulated the hallowed Chambers of the National Assembly that Governor Hyacinth Alia dissolved democratically elected leadership of the 23 Local Governments in the state.
“Moro also misinformed Distinguished Senators on the status of the court case between the former chairmen of the 23 LGA vs Benue State government which was decided by the Industrial Court and is now at the Court of Appeal.
“Moro impishly referred to the sacking of Local Government Chairmen who were investigated and found culpable of unprecedented fraud as “Illegal dissolution of duly elected…”
Kula who said it was necessary to set the records straight explained that “Governor Hyacinth Alia did not dissolve the democratically elected LG leadership in the state. The Benue State House of Assembly that is vested with the constitutional powers to legislate over the Local Government did.
“The Assembly did this in exercise of their constitutional responsibility as enshrined in sections 7 and 8 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“Governor Alia only appointed Caretaker Committees to avoid lacunas that would have been created following recommendations of the Benue State House of Assembly who investigated, indicted and sacked the 23 elected chairmen who were found to have perpetrated monumental fraud in their councils in active connivance with various councillors.
“Benue State government appealed the judgment of the Industrial Court. The appeal was files on the 24th November, 2023 and numbered, Appeal No. CA/MKD/155/2023,” he noted.
He said the state government is worried that a senator who should know better chose to blatantly lie to the entire nation with a very clear intention to curry support for his partisan leaning.
Kula said Moro’s outing of feeding the nation with fabrications and misleading the Nigeria Senate as well as his description of appointing caretaker committee as “erosion of Democracy” was mischievous especially that he, Moro, had participated as major stakeholder in lots of moments LGAs were run by caretaker committees during the PDP reign in the state between 2015-2023.
He called on Sen. Abba Moro to tender unreserved apologies to the people of Benue State and Nigerians for misleading the senate to pass resolutions on a matter they lack the constitutional powers to legislate upon.
Kula who spoke to the media in company of the Special Advisers to the Governor on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dennis Akura also called on the Nigeria senate to always scrutinize their motion papers properly to avoid a repeat of what Sen. Moro led them into and prevent them from becoming a laughing stock.
Also speaking, the Special Advisers to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dennis Akura, said Sen. Moro has watched democracy stripped naked in Benue at several instances and looked the other way and wondered why he is crying foul now.
Akura said the responsibility of investigating and legislating on LG chairmen is vested in the hands of the Benue State House of Assembly and that was what happened in Benue saying their sack was based on the recommendations of the Assembly.
He said Alia knows the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, believes in the rule of law and will never, at any time, do anything that is against the constitution. “This is what we want Nigerians to know. We want the National Assembly to know that they were lied to and we request the Senate of Nigeria to rescind their call,” Akura said.