The emergence of Governor Alia as the governor of Benue state was widely celebrated and seen by many as a divine intervention in the affairs of the state after a long period of the locust years characterised by bad governance and misuse of the limited resources of the state by the previous government.

It is why many considered the popular and sacred mandate bestowed on the governor as a Divine Mandate.

His coming into office truly signalled renewed hope for diverse segments of the Benue society.

Months of unpaid salaries and years of owed pensions and gratuities made life miserable for most citizens of the state. Workers and pensioners kept hoping against hope and wondering who would bail the proverbial cat out of the bag and turn their situation around for good.

The people of Benue trusted the Reverend Gentleman to arrest the situation and redefine governance in the state.

Fortunately, that is truly what His Excellency has done. He has hit the ground running by redefining governance and restoring decency in government business.

Governor Alia has ended the era of business as usual and brought about a new order and a new way of doing things. Business as usual with him is gone and gone for good.

This is obvious in the pattern of the decisions taken so far and the appointments made. A closer look at the appointments Governor Alia has made into his cabinet will reveal that he is set to do things differently. He, in response to the earnest yearnings of the mass of the state, consciously moved away from the past tradition of perpetual recycling people in government and went on to appoint fresh hands with competence, character, and capacity to deliver the goods.

What he has done is more like pouring fresh wine into new wine skins.

It will be recalled when the first key appointments such as yours sincerely as the Chief Press Secretary CPS; Secretary to the state government SSG; Chief of Staff CoS were made, countless people could see that we were mostly new kids on the block. It is crystal clear that it is not recycled elements that would come on to continue the tradition of business as usual.

The same pattern could be seen in the list of commissioners, advisers and special assistants that have been unveiled.

His Excellency has given hope to the hopeless and indeed all segments of society with their various interests fully represented in his government.

Many observers have hailed the governor for bringing about a paradigm shift in the governance of the state. He has equally been commended for appointing round pegs in round holes. Worthy of note is that Governor Alia has made true the popular assertion that “it is youth o’clock.” He has given the youth a fair and full representation in his cabinet by nominating very young people as commissioners, advisers, and assistants. By appointing this calibre of young people into his cabinet, he is clearly saying that the youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they are leaders of today and that the future is now.

Moreover, Alia is set and committed to rebuilding Benue back better, and he has started on a sound footing. He has the vision and his mission is clear enough. What he needs is the support of all and sundry who desire to see a Benue that works for all and not just the narrow elite.

He recognizes the enormity of the job at hand, but he has acknowledged that it is what he signed for, and so he is determined to fix the state and usher in a new era of progress and prosperity.

His singular desire is to take the state from the low valley of misery and deprivation to the mountaintop of economic growth and development.

With Governor Alia in the saddle, Benue will surely rise again and a new state of our dreams will be rebuilt. It is only a matter of time before celebration will return to all the nooks and crannies of the state and the masses of our people will laugh again as they will begin to see real-time change and massive transformation across the state.

Sir Tersoo Kula
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State.

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