From Msurshima Andrew, Makurdi
Governor of Benue state, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, said he has submitted the list of commissioner nominees to the Benue State House of Assembly for screening.
Governor Alia disclosed this in Government House on Saturday, during a breakfast meeting with media groups in the state.
Governor Alia, who who stated this in response to questions on reasons for his delay in constituting the state’s executive council, said he has since forwarded the list to the Assembly and it is the prerogative of the leadership of the house to make the list public, screen the nominees and send the list back to him.
Alia who noted that the Assembly is currently on recess, said the leadership of the house has communicated him a date that they will cut short their recess, to come back and screen the commissioner nominees.
He however, said he cannot usurp the powers of the Assembly to go public with the list, and the date for the commencement of the screening.
He enumerated some of the successes recorded by his administration, saying so far, 2500 names of ghost workers have been removed from the payroll in the first phase of the screening exercise, saving the state over N1.2 billion.
He also said that there has been regular payment of workers and pensioners, ongoing renovation works of the Benue State House of Assembly complex, visitation of the IDP camps, with efforts being made by his government to return them to their ancestral homes, as well as the provision of fertilizer at a subsidized rate of 50% for the farmers in the state.
The governor expressed joy that, Benue state, under his leadership, is also the first state in the country to implement the revised medical residency training fund (MRTF) 2023, at the revised rate, adding that his government is also constantly engaging the military and security agencies in curtailing attacks on our people.
He said his administration has put a stop on multiple levies, illegal check points and illegal taxations which were having a negative impact on the state economy, insisting that the improved monthly allowances for NYSC members serving in Benue will discourage the redeployment of corps members posted to the state, thereby becoming useful to the state, especially the medical doctors.
On the challenges, the governor said he expected rot in governance before he came in, but the magnitude he has seen it is far more than what he expected, but he is doing his best to salvage the situation.
Speaking, most of the media personalities, Vice President of Nigeria Union of Journalist, (NUJ), Zone D, Comrade Kris Atsaka, a media guru and former media aide to immediate past Governor Samuel Ortom, Mr Tahav Agerzua, Chairman of Correspondents Chapel, Vande Tor-Acka and leader of the Government House Press Corps, Pious Angbo, among others, congratulated the Governor and his deputy, Sam Ode, for their landslide victory and pledged support to the state government to enable them deliver on their campaign promises.
