The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has handed over a truck of palliatives he confiscated recently in Makurdi to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) with a charge to conduct a thorough investigation over suspicions of diversion.
The governor’s spokesperson, Tersoo Kula made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
Recall that a federal lawmaker, Terseer Ugbor, representing the Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency had raised the alarm that palliatives meant for Internally Displaced Persons in his constituency were seized by Governor Alia.
However, Alia claimed that the palliatives, which were loaded from a National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA warehouse in Jos, Plateau State were offloaded in a private residence in Makurdi under the directive of the lawmaker, prompting the seizure.
Governor Alia, who admitted that he was the one who ordered the truck to be impounded at Government House, said he wanted to know why goods released from NEMA for distribution to IDPs in Kwande and Ushongo were being offloaded at a private residence in Makurdi.
According to the statement, Alia, who discovered that some of the trucks conveying other materials such as mattresses were still missing, directed anti-graft agencies to liaise with a three-man committee from the state and conduct a thorough investigation to uncover more facts.
It was also discovered that the materials were to be distributed directly to the affected persons by officials from the Agency’s North Central Zonal Office in collaboration with the Benue State Emergency Management Agency team.
“Governor Alia called on the Acting Executive Secretary of SEMA, Sir James Iorpuu, officers of the EFCC, and a few others to monitor the situation and ensure that due process was followed and that the materials were distributed to the rightful people.
“He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for having Benue people at heart, calling on National Assembly members to consider the conditions of vulnerable people in their state and ensure that they provide for their constituents whatever the federal government gives.
“The Director General of NEMA, speaking to Governor Alia through a phone call, thanked him for being vigilant and also promised to continue to collaborate with the state government to ensure the fair distribution of any materials coming from the federal government”, the statement added.