By Ijeoma Obioma.
The Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) said they opted out of the nationwide hunger protest in Benue State due to the significant achievements of Governor Hyacinth Alia during his first year in office.
Speaking at a press conference in Makurdi, Vincent Kaior, the spokesperson for the TYO Forum of Local Government Unit Presidents, highlighted the numerous people-oriented projects initiated by Governor Alia, saying these projects, motivated the youths to refrain from joining the ongoing national protests.
“We shunned the protest in solidarity with the laudable feats achieved by the Governor within the short time he has been in office.
These include massive political appointments and employment for youths, construction of township roads, procurement of vehicles for security operatives, installation of street lights which has given Makurdi, the state capital, a facelift, procurement of buses for Benue Links Ltd to ease transportation, and renovation of the state secretariat complex.
“Additionally, the construction of a new House of Assembly Complex, the revival of several state-owned moribund companies, the establishment of BIPC Bakery and Water Factory, the construction of underpass bridges to ease traffic congestion, prompt payment of workers’ emoluments, pensions, and gratuities, provision of relief materials to IDPs, and the supply of subsidized herbicides and fertilizer to farmers.
“These and many more convinced us of the Governor’s direction, leadership, and support. We also believe that our Governor will communicate our hardships, which are not his making, to the President for prompt action to bring relief. These are the reasons we chose to shun the protest,” he stated.
The TYO also urged politicians from Abuja to support local communities by providing palliatives and inputs to boost agricultural production for food security, rather than seeking credit for the peace prevailing in Benue due to the governor’s efforts.
“Since the beginning of the current dispensation, Tiv Youth Organisation, the umbrella body of the youths of Tiv extraction, has never received any palliatives or relief materials from this forum (Abuja politicians), be it during festivities or any season.
“For instance, the administration of His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, encourages agriculture and preaches local food production. We are in the farming season. However, this forum does not see it wise to release incentives, such as herbicides or fertilizer, to Tiv Youth Organisation to enhance food productivity. Yet, it claims to provide support and direction. How?
“We want to put it on record that our refusal to join the nationwide protest was based on the appeal by His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia.
“We have seen him as a man with a focused vision. He has consistently demonstrated that. Any attempt to join that protest would have provided an opportunity for enemies of progress to exploit the exercise and wreak havoc on the state’s fine infrastructure,” the TYO spokesperson asserted.
