Abba Moro, the Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Benue South, has alleged that Governor Hyacinth Alia has stripped commissioners and other political appointees of meaningful responsibilities by concentrating governance in his office.
Moro made the allegation while speaking on Democracy Today, a programme aired on African Independent Television (AIT), where he assessed the performance of the Benue State Government.
According to him, virtually all major decisions in the state are taken exclusively by Governor Alia, leaving members of the State Executive Council with little authority to carry out their constitutional responsibilities.
He claimed that the governor had taken over functions that ordinarily belong to key government officials, including the Accountant General, the Commissioner for Finance and the Commissioner for Works.
Moro urged residents to independently assess the level of influence exercised by political appointees, insisting that many of them have been rendered ineffective under the current administration.
The lawmaker cited his visits to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps as examples of what he described as the limited financial powers available to government officials.
He recalled an occasion when a commissioner announced a donation of ₦150,000 to be shared among three IDP camps, which he said was grossly inadequate for the emergency at hand.
Moro also recounted another visit to an IDP camp where, according to him, the Deputy Governor pledged ₦1 million to soldiers engaged in combating insecurity but lacked the authority to immediately provide the funds.
He maintained that the incidents reflected excessive centralisation of authority in the Benue State Government, warning that the situation had weakened governance and hindered the ability of officials to respond effectively to urgent public needs.
