News
Insecurity: Group Tells Gov Alia To Resign Over Incompetence
A pro-democracy group known as Defenders of Democracy (DoD), has told Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia to resign if he has no answer to the spate of insecurity ravaging the state following the influx of thousands of herdsmen into the state with cattle and the resultant attacks and killing of the people.
DoD in a statement signed by its President, Amos Uchiv and made available to journalists in Makurdi Friday, condemned Governor Alia’s recent ban on political gatherings, describing it as a diversionary decision aimed at covering up his lack of capacity in addressing the security situation in the state.
The group criticized the Benue State Governor for collecting huge security votes every month but failing to apply the funds to end the wave of attacks against the people.
The statement read:
“Two days ago, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia announced a ban on all political gatherings in the state citing high insecurity as reason for the ban.
The governor who made the announcement in a statement by his Chief of Staff, Paul Biam, said the prohibition of political gatherings was because “the security atmosphere in the state is charged following the unprecedented influx of armed herdsmen in the state”.
“Governor Alia’s statement is crass admittance of failure and an invitation for State of Emergency to be declared in Benue State. Alia has clearly demonstrated his ineptitude and incompetence in running the state.
“How does stopping political gatherings translate to addressing the security situation in the state? Is politics done on people’s farms where armed herders have been destroying crops? What have the children, women and other vulnerable people who are being killed in the communities got to do with political gatherings?
“Governor Alia has by his pronouncement, admitted that the security situation in his state has overwhelmed him. He doesn’t have answers to the Fulani invasion. He is talking about peaceful coexistence with Fulani and at the same time asking them to vacate the state within two weeks. What a contradiction!
“When Alia became governor, he promised to return the internally displaced people to their ancestral homes within the first 100 days, but he failed to do that. Herders have moved into Benue State with hundreds of thousands of cattle but Governor Alia is saying nothing and doing nothing. He is more interested in political battles, probes and white elephant projects like flyovers.
“Governor Alia has exposed his lack of leadership capacity in tackling insecurity in the state as rampaging Fulani militia have continued to kill more people in parts of the state. He cannot escape responsibility for the escalating insecurity which has led to the loss of many lives and destruction of property worth billions of naira in Benue State.
“Alia has failed us on all fronts. He is not only clueless and inept but also does not seem to bother even if half of the people are massacred by the marauding Fulani militia.
“The other day, we read in the papers that Governor Alia was one of those who recently endorsed what is called Pulaku and made sure that Benue State was included in the list of states where the Federal Government plans to establish cattle colonies, and we were wondering if the man is out of his mind. Which part of the state does he hope to cede for the construction of the Fulani settlements known as Pulaku?
“The Fulanis were very happy to hear that governor of Benue State is ready to give them lands to own and occupy. If this is part of the agreement he was said to have with the Fulani before they supported his election, someone should make governor Alia understand that his plan is against the interest of Benue people.
“Alia has made Benue people to miss the former governor Samuel Ortom in a very short time. Ortom was a strong voice against the Fulani agenda in his state and the country at large. He was always the first to rally other Nigerians to reject any attempt by the Federal Government to help the Fulani to take over parts of Nigeria as their own. Some of us did not agree with all of Ortom’s polices and actions but on the Fulani issue, he was outstanding. What we have now as governor is a total failure!
“We must remind governor Alia that Benue people voted for him to protect them, not to be flying in private jets across the world and spending their money on wasteful personal luxuries like buying expensive cars, buying houses in choice locations in Makurdi, Abuja, Lagos, the United States etc. He promised us that he would provide good governance, but what we have so far seen is a misfit in power.
“He has increased his approval limit from N50 million to a whopping N250 million and has increased the security votes astronomically, yet, the security of the state is getting worse under him.
“Lastly, our stand is, since it is now apparent that Governor Hyacinth Alia is overwhelmed and has lost control of security in state, he is free to honorably resign and allow his Deputy or the Speaker of the House of Assembly to take over. He is toying with the lives of over 7 million people by making unreasonable decisions. The security of lives and property is such an important part of governance that any government that has no capacity to provide security should vacate power immediately.
“We condemn the ban on political gatherings by the governor and urge him to rescind the decision to avoid heating the polity unnecessarily. We are in a democracy, not dictatorship!”
More than N53 billion has been disbursed by the Nigerian Student Loan Fund (NELFUND) to students in upkeep institutional fees.
A breakdown of the N53, 036,673,649.40 disbursed under the Student Loan scheme showed that the agency paid N23, 173,240.000.00 as upkeep allowance to beneficiaries and N29, 863,433,649.40 as institutional fees.
Details of the disbursement were obtained from the X handle (formerly Twitter) of NELFUND as of yesterday.
According to NELFUND, 497,717 students have applied for the loan while 561,174 have registered for the loan.
It added that 88 per cent of registrants have successfully applied for the loan.
In its projection, the agency said it hopes to disburse N112,153,680,000 as student upkeep allowance and pay N52,873,195,826 as institutional fees totalling N165,026,607,326 (N165,026,875,826 as calculated by our reporter).
Some beneficiaries of the scheme have however appealed to NELFUND for the payment of their upkeep allowances.
According to them, since they changed/updated their bank details, they have not received the upkeep allowance for close to eight months.
Responding, Director, Strategic Communications, NELFUND, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi said: “The issue with that is a bit complex. It’s a security issue.
“Anybody can come and change account details.”
What we try to do is do a lot of checks to be sure it’s safe. This is being done for the sake of the students themselves. But it will be resolved soon.”
The Student Loan scheme was launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 17 after signing the Bill on April 3, last year.
According to the law, repayment will commence two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The ambitious programme will be funded with one per cent of the total annual collectable revenue by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
It is one of the key initiatives of the Tinubu administration.
Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest carrier, has announced that it will fully resume flight operations on Friday, April 25, 2025, following the suspension of the industrial action by workers and unions of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
In a statement released on Thursday by the Head of Corporate Communications at Air Peace, Ejike Ndiulo, the airline appreciated its customers and stakeholders for their support during the disruption.
According to the statement, “Air Peace is pleased to announce the resumption of all flight operations on Friday, April 25, 2025, following the suspension of the industrial action by the NIMET and other unions in the aviation sector.
“We sincerely thank you for your patience, understanding, and unwavering support throughout this challenging period. Your resilience and trust in our brand mean the world to us.”
The airline also lauded the intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, stating that his leadership was instrumental in restoring calm and resolving the impasse.
“We commend the active and decisive intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, whose leadership and commitment were pivotal in resolving the impasse and restoring normalcy within the aviation industry,” Ndiulo stated.
The airline added, “Keyamo’s swift engagement with all stakeholders, his transparent approach to dialogue, and his unwavering dedication to the stability and progress of the aviation sector reflect a deep understanding of the critical role aviation plays in national development.”
Recall that the airline had previously announced the suspension of flights in a statement on Wednesday.
This affected operations on Wednesday and Thursday. Air Peace communicated these disruptions to passengers through multiple channels and expressed sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that 26,592 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, raising alarm across the state’s education sector.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, stated this during a ministerial press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday.
He said, “45.7 per cent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams did not pass.”.
This failure rate comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing of N1.577bn paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 was paid by the state government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for the year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona fide beneficiaries of the Lagos state government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
The government, however, rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the ministry’s commitment to advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
He said with a vision to broadcast 320 lessons across 10 key subjects, including English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Literature-in-English, and Yoruba, the programme aims to bring world-class tutoring directly into students’ homes.
The commissioner said each 30-minute episode would air on Lagos Television and be archived across major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), creating a digital learning library accessible to every student.
“It is a supportive eco-system that fosters academic achievement, creativity, critical thinking… every student deserves the opportunity to attain their full potential, regardless of their background or socio-economic status,” the commissioner stated.
Alli-Balogun urged students, especially those in boarding schools, to seize the opportunity.
“It is on this note that I urge and encourage students, more importantly, students in our boarding schools, to take full advantage of this initiative, as education is a lifelong journey,” he said.
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