Victoria Mbangwa
President Bola Tinubu has held a meeting between Governor Hyacinth Alia and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, at the Presidential villa to find a lasting peace in the Benue violence.
Governor Alia revealed the development during an appearance on The Morning Brief on Channels Television, where he debunked rumours of political rifts between him and Akume, a former governor of Benue. According to Alia, Tinubu convened the high-level discussion after receiving troubling reports from concerned citizens and stakeholders.
“President Tinubu is not wrong to ask us to find common ground for peace,” the governor said. “He invited the SGF and me because of what he was hearing from the public. He wanted to know if there was any issue between us.”
Alia was quick to clarify that he and Akume remain united in their mission to stabilize the state. “The SGF himself said there are no differences between us. And if there were any before, going forward, there will be no problems at all. Our traditional rulers can sleep peacefully,” he added.
The governor also addressed the root causes of the crisis, attributing much of the violence to external forces. “We have a complex situation that is being sponsored and controlled from somewhere. We can handle the internal local government issues, but the real problem is with outsiders coming in armed with AK-47 and AK-49 rifles,” Alia stated.
He dismissed suggestions that the Federal Government has abandoned Benue in its time of need, citing tangible improvements due to national support. “If President Tinubu didn’t understand what was happening, he wouldn’t be giving us full support. Out of 23 local governments, 17 were under siege. We reduced it to nine, then six, and now just three. That progress was possible because of the support from the Federal Government.”
