We Will Clear Backlog of Arrears of Salaries, pensions and gratuities, Resettle our IDPs. Rev. Fr Alia

By Aviashima Toom

Benue State Governor-Elect, under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, has assured civil servants and retirees of his resolved to clear all backlog of salary arrears, pension and gratuities of the state.

Rev. Fr. Alia reiterated his administration resolved to ensure that the IDPs in benue state were resettled in their ancestral homes, address persistent insecurity challenges and also set the stage for a prosperous Benue. 

Addressing newsmen shortly after he was announced winner of the 2023 Guber election. The Rev. Gentleman was declared winner of the just concluded election by INEC having pull the majority votes to defeat his contender, Titus Uba of the People's Democratic party, PDP. 

He said "We need to set the foundations for a strong economy. And on top of 

that, we need to start building an economy of the future based on skills and talents and education and the application of technology; knowing that the forces of global competition and technology mean that we can only compete based on skills and talents. Let us unlock our wealth!

"My fellow citizens, a new Benue is possible, and I enjoin all of you to join hands with me to make it a reality. 

"Let us begin by embracing a new way of thinking and action by cultivating a new ethos that expresses the best of us, that brings forth our better angels and not our worst demons.

"The smallness of unending political recriminations and willful economic sabotage must give way to accommodation and the pursuit of loftierideals. 

"There is a lot we can achieve through consensus and synergy. Our points of difference cannot be greater than the things that unite us.

"Let us resolve, walk and work together as one people united by a common destiny.We the people of Benue, through this victory, have taken a new step in a new direction. We have voted to realize the vision of their founding fathers the vision of a peaceful and buoyant society where both indigene and settler, the rich and the not-so-rich will engage in the pursuit of happiness unhindered. 

"We have voted to defeat the politics of backwardness, hate and division, in preference for a social contract that enhances our common brotherhood and adds value to lives. Let the word go out to the wretched of the earth in our hinterlands, the poor farmer in Sankera, the palm wine tapper in Otukpa, the petty trader at Abinsi, the rice farmer in Gwer-West, and the artisan in Gboko, that through this election, a new dawn has broken in Benue a new dawn of equal opportunity and shared prosperity.

"And let the word go out to all the ends of the earth, that a people, through this election, have risen from the ashes of deprivation and depression and are marching in lockstep towards their rightful place in the hall of greatness.

"As we get set to begin the arduous task of rebuilding our state, May the God of all Goodness, who has answered our cry for freedom today, fortify us with the strength and wisdom to succeed.