By Kolawole Ojebisi
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has dismissed speculations that the insecurity in the state has escalated beyond his control, hence a need for emergency rule declaration.
Alia stated that what the residents need is full support from the Federal Government, not a state of emergency.
The governor said this when he was featured on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Wednesday.
He explained that the insecurity in Benue is not beyond his control, noting that he can handle the situation, but needs more help from the FG to end the crisis.
The Benue helmsman added that his government can stop the killings happening in the state, but they need more support to chase out the armed herders attacking communities.
He said, “What we need is emergency help for now. We need absolute support. The Federal Government has shown some supported. They sent two armoured tanks that came in. Our situation had changed.
“We had a better narrative, but what we need to do is to get our people back home, to drive out the invaders, the armed invaders who have brought in people who do not even speak the Nigerian languages we speak.
“Let them move back to wherever they came from and allow us farmers to go back to our ancestral land. Calling for any emergency does not occur here.”
Alia, however, rejected the idea that the security issue in the state was too much for him to manage.
He noted that the number of local governments under attack has dropped from 17 to six since he took office.
He said this shows that his administration can handle the violence and destruction caused by killer herders, many of whom, he believes, are not even Nigerians.
He stated, “We couldn’t have trimmed it from 17 local governments in the front lines of the attacks to nine and then now to six, which means we have the capability to do this, but we need help. And that is a fact.”
