Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has stated that what the residents need is full support from the federal government, not a state of emergency.
Alia made this statement when he was featured on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Wednesday.
The Benue state governor 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.
He mentioned 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 is 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, on the other hand, rejected the notion that the Benue state security issues were too difficult for him to handle.
He mentioned that the number of local governments under attack has decreased from 17 to six since he took office.
He claimed that this demonstrates his administration’s ability to deal with the bloodshed and destruction caused by murderous herders, many of whom, he believes, are not even Nigerian.
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.”
