It Is Built On Gossip And Bitterness – Gov Alia Blasts Ex-APGA Candidate Over Petition To Pope

The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has dismissed a petition written to Pope Leo XIV by former All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) gubernatorial candidate, Joseph Waya.

In the petition, Waya alleged that Alia had, through his actions in office, brought the Catholic Church in Nigeria to disrepute.

However, speaking in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the governor stated that the petition was built on gossip and personal bitterness, and therefore did not warrant a response.

He urged the public to disregard the petition as a product of frustration and continue to support the administration’s efforts to reposition Benue on the path of progress.

The statement reads in part, “The attention of the Benue public has been drawn to a petition authored by Mr. Joseph Waya, the 2023 APGA gubernatorial candidate, and addressed to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, alleging misconduct on the part of His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, Governor of Benue State.

“For starters, this petition, measured from all Perimeters, is built on gossip and personal bitterness, and needs not be given any response.

“However, given its mischievous intent to mislead the public on who Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is, and drag the Catholic Church into partisan politics, it is necessary to set the record straight.

“A glance at the allegations put forward by this aggrieved politician indicates their lack of credibility.

“For a matter as serious as financial misconduct, it is amusing that the petitioner chooses to rely on “Zebra Reporters”, an online blog, when the proper authorities to make such findings from should be the Auditor-General’s reports, budget performance documents, and anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC.

“In Waya’s wild goose-chasing petition, none of these institutions is referenced as having indicted the governor.

“Therefore, it is not out of place to view his petition as the product of hearsay and personal opinion, which naturally collapses under the weight of its own contradictions when tested against facts and logic.

“Furthermore, the claim that there are no meaningful projects on the ground is a complete misrepresentation of reality as the Alia administration has executed numerous people -oriented projects within just two years.”

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