35 impeachable offenses of Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State
As a pro-democracy group whose mandate is to uphold transparency, accountability, and good governance, we are left with no choice but to raise the alarm over the disturbing level of maladministration, financial malfeasance, blatant disrespect for the rule of law, and total disregard for due process occurring in Benue State under Governor Hyacinth Alia.
We feel compelled to bring the governor’s atrocities to light as patriotic sons of the state before it crumbles. Although the current State House of Assembly is a lame duck and its leadership is a lapdog of Governor Alia, the court of public opinion is superior to all other chambers of justice. We do this for posterity.
Let it be on record that while the plundering of Benue’s resources was ongoing, a group of concerned citizens raised the alarm. A governor who has kept sealed lips regarding monthly Federal Allocations to the state for two years and has not disclosed the Benue State wage bill and IGR for two years is obviously serving his personal interest and not the public.
It is important for the good people of Benue State to know who they elected as governor in 2023 in his true colors.
Below are the facts and figures regarding the impeachable offences committed by Governor Hyacinth Alia in just two years in office:
1. Since May 30, 2023, all government accounts have remained frozen under the directive of Governor Alia. Only the governor operates the accounts and spends from them as he pleases.
2. The governor has effectively turned state resources into his private wealth and has been spending them as he sees fit.
3. There has been no adherence to the Public Procurement Act (Due Process Law) and the Fiscal Responsibility Law of the state.
4. Without a cabinet in place, Governor Alia unilaterally approved contracts for the construction of 16 short streets totaling merely 15 kilometers within Makurdi town, initially for the sum of N6 billion, and after a few weeks, increased the cost to N9 billion without due process.
5. There is zero transparency and accountability under Governor Alia. He has not made public how much his administration has received from the federation’s account, despite the increased federal allocations resulting from the removal of the fuel subsidy.
6. The governor has not disclosed how much the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) is for two consecutive years.
7. Contracts for projects are awarded by the governor without due process, and the project figures are highly inflated. An example is the planned rehabilitation of a 13km Wurukum to Airforce Base road at the cost of N68.3 billion!
8. The governor awards contracts that are not budgeted for, in gross disregard for due process, and without the approval of the State Executive Council or oversight from the State House of Assembly.
9. Alia deliberately refuses to disclose contract details, sums, duration and other terms.
10. There has been no bidding for contracts. Governor Alia single-handedly signs contracts and awards them to companies in which he has vested interests or as a form of compensation for those who funded his campaign, such as former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, and the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje whom the governor induces with contracts to help him gain control over party structures in the state.
11. The Benue State Executive Council, under Governor Hyacinth Alia, approved a staggering amount of N149.5 billion for only four road projects in a single sitting in March 2025—50% of the state’s capital expenditure for the year 2025.
12. The sum of N85 billion has entered the state in the form of grants from donors through the Bureau of International Cooperation and Development. There has been no accountability for these substantial funds to date.
13. Governor Alia has been pressuring the state judiciary in a desperate attempt to remove the State Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese. High Court judges in the state have been harassed, beaten, and humiliated by thugs at the directive of Governor Alia.
14. There is shocking nepotism under Governor Alia. The governor has concentrated all key government appointments in his Mbadede Ward of Vandeikya Local Government Area, negating the federal character principle enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria.
15. Governor Alia has been running the state on executive orders in gross violation of the Constitution, an act that severely infringes on the fundamental rights of citizens and represents a reign of dictatorship that must be stopped.
16. On February 27, 2024, Governor Alia signed an Executive Order banning public gatherings and the holding of all forms of events, including wakes, ceremonies, and religious gatherings. His council chairmen, accompanied by thugs, have been strictly enforcing the orders, molesting innocent people across the 23 local government areas of the state.
17. In August 2023, Governor Alia received N5 billion as a palliative package from the federal government, but to this day, he has not disclosed to the people what his government has done with the money.
18. Alia disobeys court orders with impunity and rascality.
19. The governor has refused to assent to any bill passed into law by the Benue State House of Assembly. This is why there have been no gazetted laws since Alia assumed office. The only laws he signs speedily are the annual state budgets, to enable him to sustain his spending spree.
20. Governor Alia’s Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), Raymond Asemakaha, has incorporated several companies under private names instead of under the state government. These companies include a bakery, a water factory, a fertilizer plant, a nails manufacturing facility, and a brewery. Checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) indicate that none of these companies is registered in the Benue State Government’s name; they are all privately owned companies masquerading as government entities.
21. Governor Alia is secretly selling Benue State enterprises to himself using his friends! This act is in gross violation of the Benue State Law on Privatization and Commercialization of Public Enterprises 2012. Below is the list of companies Alia has sold to himself and his cronies so far:
i) Benue Printing and Publishing Company (BPPC) sold to Shimatex Nigeria Limited, owned by a long-time friend of the governor, Joel Mtsor.
ii) Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi. The private company now running the teaching hospital is known as Omayex Projects Limited, located at Bevis House, Wuse Zone 2, FCT-Abuja. Governor Alia and the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Stephen Hwande, both have shares in the company.
iii) Benue State Fertilizer Blending Plant at Industrial Layout sold to Star Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd.
iv) Governor Alia is in advanced talks with a Lagos-based transport company owner who wants to buy Benue Links Transport Company. Alia will be a co-owner of the company. The governor has already invested heavily in the company as an individual, acquiring over 50 buses with palliative funds in his name, while deceiving the people into believing that the buses are owned by the state government.
v) Other companies that Alia has lined up to secretly sell to his business partners in the coming months include: Makurdi Modern Market, Taraku Mills, Mega Foods and Beverages Processing Company Ltd., Benfruit Nig. Ltd., Benkims Plastic Nig. Ltd., Katsina Ala Yam Flour Factory, Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) Ltd., Otukpo Burnt Bricks, and Benue Roof Tiles Ltd.
vi) Last year, Governor Alia sold Benue State shares in Zenith Bank and other enterprises worth N12 billion without the notification and approval of Benue State House of Assembly.
22. Governor Alia recently purchased a Bombardier Challenger 850 private jet for his comfort at the cost of N11 billion! That amount could have been allocated to crucial sectors that directly impact the lives of the people.
23. There has been non-disclosure of Benue State Local Government allocations from FAAC allocations in two years.
24. Governor Alia has not only turned local government resources to his personal use; he has diverted a staggering N40 billion from local government allocations in the last six months.
25. Alia has allocated to himself N3.5 billion in monthly security votes.
26. Governor Alia spent N3 billion to purchase vehicles for himself within his first six months in office.
27. The Governor has increased his approval limit from N50 million to a whopping N250 million at once.
28. The governor turns a deaf ear to corruption cases against his appointees. For example, the Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Grace Adagba, was indicted for embezzling N2 billion. Another investigation revealed that the Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs had stolen N1.7 billion, siphoned from the monthly security votes of the local government councils in the state. Those appointees acted on the governor’s behalf.
29. Creation of government bureaus and agencies without recourse to the State Assembly.
30. Failure to protect lives and property as armed Fulani herdsmen continue to attack and kill innocent people in most local government areas of the state.
31. Denial of the herders’ attacks and killings in the state.
32. The resurgence of thuggery in Benue State under the governor’s direct approval and supervision.
33. Lack of even distribution of projects across zones. For example, Benue South (Zone C) has not benefited from any development project since Alia came to power.
34. Deliberate refusal to clear the arrears of salaries and pensions, despite receiving monumental monthly federal allocations since fuel subsidy was removed in 2023. All other state governors have since cleared the backlog of salaries and pensions which they inherited in their states
35. Governor Alia and his cabinet members constantly shun invitations to appear before the State Assembly to clarify issues bordering on governance.
If the Benue State House of Assembly were not pocketed by Governor Hyacinth Alia, these offenses would be weighty enough to warrant his impeachment.
Signed:
Dennis Agema
President
Network For Transparent Governance (NTG)
Oliver Omenka
Secretary General
