Alia Settles For Dialogue With Benue Media

Benue State Governnor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia's visit to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Benue State Council where he gave 1500 improved variety of palm oil seedling stands to journalists indicates portrayal of change more positively to the weakening relationship the government seemingly have with media community in the state.

The Governor donated also an eighteen seater bus as well as approved renovation of the union's secretariat in Makurdi, built in 1992.

Governor Alia told journalists on the event "today, I am not here as a Governor, but as partner to accelerate the progress by planting these seeds of a brighter Benue." 

He noted that the event was symbolic for development his administration has used to evaluate the past two years of executing verifiable projects across all parts of Benue for enjoyment of life.

Alia undertook to interface more regularly with the Benue media at least every sixty days, beginning from the symbolic meeting at NUJ House where he distributed the oil palm seedlings.

As expectations grow that the rebirthing media relationship may bring understanding and facilitate more, the process for disseminating information on programmes and policies of government needed by the governed, the Governor urged the union to embrace factual presentation of reports on activities of the government. 

He said "I urge you to use your pens, cameras and smart phones to carry not just the challenges of the state, but also the progress we make everyday for our people." He disclosed his priority for consumption of media products as extra ordinary, especially the print, but also lamented what he said was "the changing narratives the media indulge in to injure the efforts of developing the state!

The Governor said "I discover that there is a distance from the truth, a lot of writers and the people are moving to the alternative truth. Alternative truth is the common way of telling lies. There is just one truth, a sincere objective, transparent and accountable truth."

He urged journalists to devote time and energy to truthfully report on "the new roads, the renovation of classrooms, empowerment of farmers to produce more food and many other incentives government provided since 2023" when it came to power. 

Alia urged journalists to focus more on what would bring the opportunities for growth and progress to communities in the state. He encouraged the media to criticize government constructively through useful advice relevant to raising the administration's performance higher.

The Governor's interface with Benue media was not the first since he took over the reigns of power in 2023. The first was after inauguration he promised synergy with the Benue media to guarantee cordial working relationship that fast tracks development for all.

The Governor paid glowing tribute to members of the pen profession, saying "the media have been part of the whole process from our stepping forward to be mandated to run, to the campaign season right up to the election time and now after winning the popular vote to serve." 

He added "we are here to tell you that we will never take you for granted." Alia who saw the post election meeting as good to acknowledge the efforts the media made for democratic change of government to bring good governance described the same as important and symbolic for recognizing the contributions journalists made in the past and continue to do so for enhancing performance of the government to improve productivity.

His expression of readiness to partner with the media for the state to develop and reach the stage the founding fathers wanted has been of immense interest to journalists.

But his readiness for realistic partnership seemingly created doubts when the Governor reacted to a question one of the journalists asked during the first meeting on the process the government has designed to deliver good governance to people of the state?

Without prejudice to either sides, his response shocked the community of media managers and reporters as he described the journalist as "the devil's advocate!" 

Since then, the community of pen professionals are said to have been struggling to adjust to the realities of his reaction, but his seeming preference to patronize media houses from outside Benue State beats the imagination rationally. What justification has government for taking the decision which appears to have marginalized the home media?

The decision to appoint the Timbuktu Media Services as consultant from another state to access and assess projects executed by the government amidst request by the NUJ on same exercise symbolized a dislike for the home media! 

Reacting to the treatment, the union at its congress of May 27, 2025 protested what the members described as "alienation of the media in the state by the administration" and called for action against such treatment!

Its communique stated, "congress frowns at the continuous engagement of Abuja based media consultants to carryout projects appraisal in Benue State rather than the engagement of the home media that have been covering and projecting activities from inception." It noted that the engagement of outsiders amounted to capital flight.

The Congress frowned also at what it alleged as "derogatory words used by some of the Governor's media handlers." According to the communique the aides insulted journalists at a public function and it cautioned against the act! 

Governor Alia's Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Tersoo Kula appealed to the union at its emergency congress to stay calm for dialogue aimed at easing tension. Kula assured of government's consideration and resolution of issues raised by the union.

Congress accepted the appeal, but contemplated inviting one of the Governor's aides to clarify more on alleged use of the derogatory remarks.

The Technical Adviser to the Governor on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication, Hon Solomon Iorpev guided the visiting media consultants to appraise projects executed by the Alia administration. The congress accused him of the alleged negative remarks! 

Adviser Iorpev who attended the next congress clarified the issue "Mike Omeri was leading the team, the Director of Works who took us round the projects and I felt insulted when the journalists went behind the three of us and took money from the contractors!" 

Expressing displeasure on the conduct, Iorpev posed "how can you go to the contractors and ask for money when you know that you did not take yourselves to the project sites for independent investigation?"

He explained that if journalists went on their own for the work, it would have been a different scenario, but with him on the team amounted to disregard for constituted authority no leader tolerated the behaviour!

He expressed outrage at the attitude and said, contractors could release one hundred thousand naira under such situations but raise a voucher for one hundred million naira and accuse "me as Technical Adviser for using journalists to extort money from them!" 

According to Iorpev, when they returned to Government House at the end of first day of the work "I said, you disappointed me, because, as your leader, I have the right to reprimand or correct you on what you did wrongly. If I fail to do that, I am not qualified to be your leader."

About money taken allegedly from the contractors, Iorpev said, he left it with journalists but decided that those who misbehaved would not be on the tour again. "This was what happened and they are saying that I used derogatory language on them!"

He added that, himself, a journalist always stood for what has been right and that his integrity premised on telling the truth cannot be damaged by any group or the individual! 

He noted "when journalists lose integrity, they lost everything. Why did you not investigate by asking for my account of the story before jumping to the conclusion?

You should have put side by side our views to enable you judge better. Why should anybody tell you to pass vote of no confidence, seeking to suspend me or influence you to compel me to apologize for what I did not do, and having not heard from me, you wanted to act? You have heard from me now, pass the confidence vote in the manner your conscience tells you!"

Iorpev may have deserved a measure of treatment better than what the congress did, which justifies description of it as a "sweeping reaction to the accusation." His role in the resolution of the prolonged crisis which rocked the NUJ comes to mind. The end of the crisis enabled Governor Alia to honour the union with the launch of his terena oil palm seedlings at the secretariat.

The benefits are more, but the instant approval by Governor Alia of requests from the NUJ to undertake appraisal of the projects the administration has executed across the state among others appear genuine as moving closely to block the seeming gaps that existed in the relationship between the government and journalists in the state.

The gesture believed to douse the rising tension and calm the fraying nerves of the home media looks fine, but the policy of the government against the actively practicing journalists at home tends to have more counterproductive results on the efforts of disseminating information on progress of the administration for the people to consume! 

No justification exists on the part of government to deny the home based practicing media practitioners the access into Government House. It tends to suggest that Governor Alia may not have taken journalists as partners in progress again even as the pen professionals readily cooperated fully by reporting freely government programs to the people.

More specifically, the trend contradicts the Governor's earlier undertaking not to take the media for granted and the denial of the access into the Government House for the home grown media operators signifies the contradiction.

The measure does not benefit the public, especially the most recent invitation Alia extended to the stakeholders christened "an evening of fellowship and dialogue with selected political leaders, friends and colleagues." 

According to him the event meant to "strengthen bonds, shared progress achieved across the state and discuss further plans for collective growth and development" was organized by All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Government House where issues of development were ex-rayed.

The blockage equals to discriminating against the home media and it's right to stress that no government feels pain about over publicity, particularly positively given. 

This particular aspect of the action tends to diminish trust and dwarf the potency of his admission that journalists contributed to victory in the 2023 Governorship election in the state.

Acknowledgment of the contributions guarantee robust relationship with journalists the administration should promote because, its best way for influencing the favourable journalistic lines of reportage the administration needs to enable her appear nicely in the eyes of the public.

This aspect seems lacking at moment unfortunately, but its the missing link that could encourage the pen profession at home to sympathize with the state authorities.

Without it, tendency exists for sympathy by the journalists to wane and present protest as alternative to draw attention of the government which once promised to keep a reliable, caring and trust worthy relationship with the Benue media.