Governor Hyacinth Alia disclosed details of a peace-building meeting held with President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.
According to the governor, the President convened the meeting as part of efforts to find a political resolution to the persistent and devastating killings in Benue State.
Benue, a major food-producing state in Nigeria’s North-Central region, has endured prolonged attacks, allegedly by suspected herdsmen. These killings, attributed to inter-communal disputes and struggles for land dominance between indigenous farmers and nomadic herders, have escalated in recent weeks, claiming over 160 lives in multiple communities.
In response, President Tinubu tasked Governor Alia on Sunday to organize reconciliation meetings and foster dialogue among the warring factions to halt the bloodshed and establish lasting peace and coexistence between farmers, herders, and local communities.
The governor acknowledged that resolving the crisis requires a multifaceted approach, including reconciliation efforts. This comes amid reports of an alleged rift between Alia and Akume, a former governor of the state, over control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) structure in Benue, where both are party members.
He said, “We have a complex situation that is primarily being sponsored from somewhere, being remote-controlled from somewhere.
“We would be able to contain the intra-local government and the intra-local government crises in the state.
“The problem here is the externals who come in armed with their AK-47 and their AK-49.
“I think the president is not wrong to have said that we should find a common ground for reconciliation.
“He had invited the SGF and myself because of what he was hearing out there in the public. He tried to find out whether there were some differences between us.
“The SGF himself said there were no differences between us. If they were, going forward, there would be no anxiety at all. So, the traditional institutions should go to their beds with eyes closed.”
Alia also refuted claims that the Federal Government has not come to the aid of the people of Benue State to defend them against vicious, blood-thirsty marauders.
“If he (President Bola Tinubu) didn’t have an understanding of what is going on, he won’t be giving us full support,” the governor said on the television programme.
“Seventeen local governments out of 23 were under siege and then we fought it down to nine local governments. We fought it down to six and now to three. It came down because of the full support we got from the Federal Government.”