- Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, maintains frozen state government accounts amid ongoing investigations into alleged fraud in MDAs
- He cites concerns of misuse by individuals awaiting deposits and assures appropriate handling of funding requests from affected agencies
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has stated that the state government accounts will remain frozen until the ongoing investigation into the bank accounts of some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) is completed.
The governor claimed that some “hyenas” and “hawks” were eagerly awaiting money to be deposited into their accounts so they could fleece it.
During his inaugural speech at Makurdi’s IBB Square on May 29, Alia imposed a ban on the state government’s bank accounts.
The governor, who was answering journalists’ questions in Makurdi over the weekend, revealed that he was correct to order the closure of the accounts caused by the alleged magnitude of fraud in the MDAs.
He stated that the accounts would remain frozen, especially since some ‘landmines’ were planted in the MDAs by some individuals in the waning days of the previous administration prior to his taking office.
Even now, as I speak, there are hyneas, hawks waiting to pick anything that drops in those accounts. These same people are keeping watch on the accounts, and waiting for when and what would drop in the accounts so they can cart away for their personal use.
It’s not yet time for the unfreezing to be done. I’m still looking critically at the MDAs. The best decision, for now, is to keep the accounts frozen until the government is convinced of safe operations, he said.
Alia, on the other hand, explained that “while the freeze remains in effect, all government ministries, departments, and agencies affected by this development but requiring funds always raise their issues to the appropriate authority, and such requests are treated as demanded by the MDAs.”
Nonetheless, the governor hinted that the accounts might be unfrozen at the appropriate time or sooner than expected.