Gov Alia Denies PDP Allegation Over Construction of Fulani Colonies

Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue State, has denied claims that his administration is transferring land for the development of Fulani colonies.

On Monday, Gistlover reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter in Benue State had protested Vice President Kashim Shetima’s proposal to establish Fulani colonies in the state as well as other issues.

Remember that the Vice President revealed last week at a public event in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, that the current administration had approved the construction of 1,000 houses for the Fulani community in the states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, and Benue. The houses will also include all ancillary facilities such as schools, clinics, veterinary clinics, and ranches.

However, the PDP in the state urged Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the governor, to omit Benue from the list of the aforementioned housing construction.

However, Alia defended the claim by claiming that Fulani colonies were not the intended target of the federal government’s plan to build housing for displaced people in the state on Monday evening.

Tersoo Kula, the governor’s spokesman, assured the populace of Benue that his administration would not take any action to harm them.

The governor noted that ”As earlier explained, it is a burning desire of Governor Hyacinth Alia and the present administration to return the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their homes, as soon as possible.

“However, since most of their houses have been destroyed by the gun-carrying marauding herders, the federal government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has agreed to sponsor the reconstruction of new homes for our Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The homes are to be built in cluster formats, enabling our people to live more closely with each other and to experience more stability.

“In Benue, the homes are for our people and not for any colony, whatsoever. Benue people should know that Governor Hyacinth Alia will not do anything that will undermine the goodwill he has gotten from the wonderful people of the state. The governor means well for the people of the state and, as such, will always put them first.”