Defenders of Democracy demand clarity on ‘Alia Care’ programme funding in Benue

By Hannah Nathan, Warri.

Defenders of Democracy (DoD), a group that supports democracy and the rule of law, has urged Rev. Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue State, to urgently address the populace and explain where the money for “Alia Care” comes from.

The organization also challenged Governor Alia to address the people on how much he had gotten in federal allocations and how much the state had generated in internal revenue since the start of June 2023 in a press release issued on Saturday and signed by the group’s president Comrade Amos Uchiv.

Recall that on Friday, Governor Alia announced the training for officials of organizations and cooperatives in the state who, according to Joy Luga, had applied for the “Alia Care” Program through his Commissioner for Cooperatives, Urban and Rural Development.

The notification states that the training will take place in all of the state’s federal electoral districts.

In response, the group accused the Governor of changing the Conditional Cash Transfer program of the Federal Government to imply “Alia Care,” saying that this has led some residents of rural areas to believe that he is the one setting up their financial aid.

“Has he lately sent the Benue State House of Assembly a supplemental budget that includes the funds? In the event that the response is negative, he ought to drop the term “Alia Care” and go back to the Federal Government’s original moniker, “Conditional Cash Transfer.”

“Governor Alia ought to speak to the people about how he handled the painkillers that the federal government supplied to the state. The N5 billion was used to what use? We have a right to know as a people!

“The Governor should equally inform the populace of the amount of federal funding he has received and the amount of domestic revenue the state has created from June 1, 2023.

“We anticipate that Governor Alia will act honorably and quickly clear the air on the aforementioned issues.”