The Benue State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, approved Governor Hyacinth Alia’s request for a sum of N6,644,778,900 to conduct the local government election in the state slated for 5 October 2024.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) questioned the justification for such a huge budget, wondering whether the LG poll would even hold.
The N6.6 billion approval was granted by the lawmakers in a unanimous voice vote during Wednesday’s plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Hyacinth Dajoh.
The lawmakers acted on the governor’s supplementary budget estimate titled ‘Submission of 2024 Supplementary Budget Estimates of Six Billion, Six Hundred and Forty -Four Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred Naira (N6,644, 778, 900.00) Only Towards The Conduct of Local Government Elections in Fiscal Year 2024 to the Assembly”.
The governor’s letter to the Assembly was read on the floor of the House by the Speaker.
In a unanimous voice vote, members of the Assembly approved the supplementary budget.
Reacting to the development, the immediate past Publicity Secretary of the Benue PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, described the N6.6 billion budget for LG poll as ‘another chunk of money down the drain”.
According to a PDP chieftain in the state, Alia’s administration has been breaking every record available in “recklessness, visionless and has been breeding unprecedented maladministration”.
“What is the justification for spending over N6 billion on local government election when the party, APC is embroiled in series of crisis.
“While the house was passing the supplementary budget, it’s unclear which of the factions of the party is to submit the list of candidates for the election in the state.
“At the end of the day, such money will be voted but the exercise may not hold and if it holds, I am very sure that litigation is going to be the end product.
“Instead of wasting tax payers’ money, Alia should have sanitised the local electoral process in the state by putting to rest the crisis bedevilling the APC in the state to an extent you cannot recognise whether it’s still a political party or association of people scrambling for crumbs.
“To us in PDP, we see it as another chunk of money going down the drain”.
