Waya's Kinsmen Disown Petition Against Gov. Alia

The Mbayongo-Tiev Community in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State has distanced itself from the petition reportedly served on Governor Hyacinth Alia to Vatican authorities, alleging official misconduct.

Briefing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Benue State Council, Makurdi, the President-General of the Yongo-Tiev Community Development Association, Mr. Jita Ankurugh, said the petitioner, Mr. Joseph Waya, is “out of touch with the prevailing realities in Benue State.”

According to him, Waya—a veteran journalist, businessman, and politician—had alleged that Governor Alia not only brought the Catholic Church in Nigeria into disrepute through “strange behaviour,” but also engaged in corrupt practices in government, among other accusations.

The association expressed displeasure that instead of relying on authentic processes and verifiable reports, Waya based his petition on publications by an online blog, Zebra Reporters.

“The good people of Mbayongo-Tiev, the kith and kin of Mr. Joseph Waya, see this viperous attack on the Governor of Benue State as a direct attack on the entire Mbayongo-Tiev Community,” the association said.

The leaders recalled that no sitting governor had ever visited the community since the creation of Benue State in 1976, noting that Governor Alia’s recent visit had the potential to bring long-awaited benefits. They suggested that Joseph Waya’s petition was an attempt to frustrate such progress.

They further lamented that despite hailing from one of the families “presumed to be the richest in material substance in Mbayongo-Tiev, and possibly in Vandeikya Local Government,” Waya allegedly failed to contribute meaningfully to the development of the area.

Consequently, the association declared: “We state unequivocally that the Mbayongo-Tiev Community of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State will resist Mr. Joseph Waya with all resources at our disposal. His attack on the Governor is an attack on the entire community, and we completely dissociate ourselves from it.”

They added that the community would continue to support the governor and his developmental initiatives.

On his part, the Chairman of NUJ Benue State Council, Comrade Bemdoo Ugber, assured the association of fair, balanced, and widely circulated reportage of the development in order to project the concerns of the rural community.