Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic Priest, has sought support as he joined the 2023 governorship race in Benue on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Catholic priest made the plea on Saturday night when he had an interactive session with the Benue community in Abuja.
The session was organized by a group, the Alia Alliance, a group coordinating efforts to promote the priest’s governorship ambition.
Rolling out his Seven-Point agenda for the development of Benue, Alia said his mission was to ensure that the government continued to prioritize the needs of residents and the people of the state.
The renowned priest of the Catholic Diocese of Gboko said he would ensure that the government served the people if given the chance to lead the state.
The aspirant listed his 7-point agenda to include enhancing education and healthcare, tackling corruption, and other malpractices.
“Social justice will be adhered to, to the context of ‘One Benue, One Brotherhood’;” he said, adding that he would also stop land grabbers in the state.
The aspirant pledged to create jobs and ensure massive industrial development through tax breaks and holidays for local businesses.
“We will provide a leadership that will restore our values, pride, and dignity,” Alia said.
According to him, Benue has suffered from long years of ill-governance which has stunted its growth and development.
Alia said that maladministration over the years had resulted in the underdevelopment, insecurity, and general hardship that the people of Benue had been subjected to.
He urged all Benue indigenes to rise up and join him to change the “ugly political narrative in the state.
“Benue is broken enough and it’s time to fix it. I joined partisan politics to salvage the state from collapse.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Alia Alliance, Mr. Peter Ashiekaa appealed to the Benue indigenes in Abuja to throw their weight behind what he called, the ‘Divine Project’.
He appealed for support to realize the aspirations of Alia, whom he said offered the only hope for the emancipation of the Benue people.
