Benue State Government Responsible for U.S. Delegation Not Visiting Zone C – Sen. Moro
Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District and Minority Leader of the Senate, Comrade Abba Moro, PhD, has blamed the Benue State Government for the failure of the recent United States Congressional delegation on a fact-finding mission to visit Zone C, saying the exclusion of the area has raised serious concerns among affected communities that have suffered prolonged terrorist attacks and displacement.
This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the Media Adviser to the Senator, Emmanuel Eche’Ofun John, which said the senator’s office had been flooded with calls from constituents seeking explanations over why Zone C was ignored in the delegation’s itinerary.
The statement read: “The office of the senator representing Benue South Senatorial District and Senate Minority Leader, Comrade Abba Moro, PhD, has been inundated with calls from constituents wanting to know why the US delegation, which met Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), religious leaders and traditional rulers in Benue State did not visit Zone C or have any representative from the zone during its recent fact-finding mission to the state.
Several persons from the senatorial district have expressed disappointment over the development and are greatly worried that the visiting United States Congressional delegation did not include any of the many affected Zone C communities in its itinerary.
As worrisome as it is, Senator Moro is not in the position to tell why the zone that has suffered greatly from terrorists’ attacks was ignored. He’s equally alarmed though not surprised, knowing that the governor of the state, Hyacinth Alia, does not have any plan for Zone C, a position he has consistently maintained due to the governor’s poor handling of issues that affect the zone.
The senator has been lamenting the governor’s neglect and lack of empathy for the people of Benue South. Regrettably, the governor’s apologists in the zone are insisting that he should not be criticized. To them, Senator Moro should be held to account for all the maladies in the zone, ranging from insecurity to infrastructural deficiency and decay.
Governor Alia is not only the Chief Security Officer of the state, he draws monthly security votes, and is presiding over our common patrimony, which include federal allocations to the state and local government areas, and is expected to treat every zone equally and fairly.
Governor Alia allocated N68b for the rehabilitation of the less than 5km Wurukun-Airforce base road but allocated a paltry sum of N1.8bn to reticulate Otobi dam water system, yet, the politically misguided apologists of the governor see nothing wrong in that and want Senator Moro to be held responsible for every thing under the moon in Zone C. Those dis-informed sons and daughters of the zone have stopped at nothing to criticize Senator Moro for criticizing Governor Alia for his criminal neglect of Benue South.
While we wait for the state government or any of those apologists in Zone C to give explanation over the shunning of the zone by the US Congressional delegation, as they always do each time a concern is raised about the government, the senator appeals to his constituents to remain calm and keep trusting God, stating that only God protects the tailless cow from flies.”
