Feature: Benue Assembly Debacle: The Fall Of Hyacinth Dajoh, Alia Connection, Suspended Lawmaker, Alfred Now Speaker

Feature: Benue Assembly Debacle: The  Fall Of Hyacinth Dajoh, Alia Connection, Suspended Lawmaker, Alfred Now  Speaker

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The open-secret war between the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia  and the immediate past speaker of the State House of Assembly came as a big surprise to many people, especially politicians in the State. 

The optics from the drama that recently engulfed the House of Assembly in the State was not a pleasant one, albeit the matter has being gradually subdued, notwithstanding the impression of a resolution that is being created.

The notion had long been established that the Benue assembly has never been independent and had always taken orders from Fr. Alia. But, such a brazen decimation of a critical institution is quite disturbing.

The former speaker of the  10th Benue State House of Assembly Mr. Aondona Hyacinth Dajoh is a member representing Gboko West State Constituency who has in the past, enjoyed uncommon support from colleagues and even from the state governor.

During his tenure as speaker, he was able to hold firm grip of the House. He endured all manner of things, to ensure that there was no chaos and  throughout his stay in office as speaker, no infighting and public display of any kind of anger amongst members of the House.

Although his emergence as speaker initially, followed a monumental commotion in the House due to divergent interest between Governor Hyacinth Alia who insisted on him, and the incumbent Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF), Sen. George Akume who wanted his absolute  loyalist to become the speaker.

Benue is virtually an APC State, so to say. Currently, the composition of the House of Assembly is principally titled in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

 About 27 out of the 32 legislators in the House belong to APC. While five are from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one is from the Labour party. 

Despite the overwhelming dominance of the APC in the House and indeed, in Benue State as a whole, it appears that Governor Alia is no longer in control of the legislators despite his anointed man be in helm of affairs of the legislative chamber. 

However, in the last 2 years of governor's Alia administration, the relationship between the Governor and the ex- speaker Dajoh had been a perfect one and so cordial  until few months ago.

The 32 members in a bid to elect their speaker and deputy speaker then, were splinted into two camps, the pro-Akume and pro-Alia supporters.

While Dajoh was nominated from the Alia camp, Becky Opine was picked by the Akume camp. Dajoh had the support of the governor and his APC loyalists in the State, just as Becky Orpine representing Gboko East from  Pro-George Akume had the backing of the State Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC. 

It was a fierce battle of supremacy between Fr. Alia and his political benefactor. But  at the end, Alia won the  fight and Dajoh emerged as speaker of the 10th assembly.

Dajoh was regarded as Governor Hyacinth Alia’s eagle eye, a loyal servant and formidable bridge between the legislature and the executive. 

The Governor  and the former Speaker both share common ancestry – the Governor’s maternal roots are from the Speakers paternal roots in Mbatiav in the Gboko part of the Jemgbagh Intermediate Area of the Tiv nation.

The Governor, barely one month into his administration, picked up a fight with SGF Senator George Akume, because he reportedly never wanted  Becky Orpin to become the speaker of House of Assembly.

In fairness, Alia made lots of sacrifices for Dajah, maybe because of their blood ties. At a point, people started addressing the Governor  as "a man who bites the fingers that fed him" due to his stance for Dajoh.

Under Dajoh, several people viewed the  Assembly as merely an extension of the office of the Governor. Members of the House were no longer commanding respect before the executive arm of government. Their contributions to the governance of the state that their sittings were merely a matter of formality, where nothing serious ever took place.

But things took a radical turn and went down south rather fast in the past one or two months as the Assembly started asking hard questions about how the Governor was running the affairs of the state.

The Speaker and his House moved to exercise their constitutional powers of oversight over Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) of government in the state, and even went as far as calling for the suspension of some of the heads of those MDAs they found wanting.

They also rejected some of the nominees the Governor sent to them to be screened for appointed as Commissioners into his cabinet.

What could be the problem? What makes the House, hitherto seen as a rubber stamp, to boldly reject the list of cabinet members submitted by the governor  for screening and confirmation?

First was when the House summoned some heads of government agencies to appear before it to explain their involvement in certain transactions within their agencies.

Their inability to appear House angered the members who passed a resolution calling on the Governor to suspend them for a period of three to six months.

The resolutions were transmitted to the Governor for immediate action but he shunned their requests, a development it was alleged  prompted the House to step down the screening of those commissioner nominees.

In fact, the Dajoh led House of Assembly insisted that if those affected  government officials were not suspended, the House would  henceforth, not honour any correspondence from the Governor.

Fewer weeks later, the Governor succumbed to their requests by slamming one month suspension on the affected government officials. They are the Executive Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Mr. Maxwell Ogiri, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB), Mrs. Grace Adagba, and the Executive Secretary of the Benue State Lottery Commission, Mr. Michael Uper.

Upon the Governor's action, the Assembly quickly swung into action and began the screening of the Commissioner nominees. Out of the first set of eight, six were screened and confirmed while two others were rejected following series of petition against them. 

One of the nominees was the immediate younger brother of Tiv Paramount ruler, Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse.

This development also, allegedly did not go down well with the Governor who was said to have insisted that all the nominees must scale through.

His concern over the removal of the  Speaker, Dajoh, might seem genuine and founded. But if at the level he is now and with all that God had done for him, he never envisaged that a day would come when his leadership would someday face stiff resistance, then he might have been overrated after all.

Again, it was gathered that when the second set of the nominees made up of eight were also forwarded to the House by the Governor, the House screened and confirmed only three leaving five out, saying those five others were former government appointees (Commissioners) who failed to honour the Assembly's past invitations.

This equally allegedly irked the Governor into believing that the House under the leadership of Aondona Dajoh has something sinister up their sleeves, having jettisoned some correspondences from him too within this period.

Before the Sunday drama, it has been alleged that the Governor had it to his ears that the former speaker, Aondona Dajoh had gone to form alliance and was romancing with the camp of the SGF who never wanted  him to be speaker as at, which according to speculations were evident in the actions and inactions of the House.

This, it was also said, made the Governor uncomfortable and no longer having complete trust on the former speaker.

Speculations had it that this is where it was said that the idea to impeach the Speaker was muted, championed by some members and other heads of government agencies.

Dajoh be a smart guy,  got wind of the development, and at a plenary, he quickly announced the suspension of the four  members fingered in attempting to remove him. 

Our correspondent reports that last Friday, August 22 2025, the Benue State House of Assembly suspended the accused four members from legislative duties for a period of three months, for what it described as an "attempt to cause chaos" among members of the House.

They are Alfred Aondoaver Emberga, representing Makurdi North State Constituency, Shimawua Emmanuel representing Vandeikya; Cyril Ikong Oju II State Constituency, and Abu Umoru James for Apa State Constituency.

The former speaker did his to save his job but it was too late because the Governor and his party, the All Progressives Congress APC, were said to be involved in the moves to remove him.

Having seen the handwriting on the wall and sensing that his position is no longer guarantee because most of his colleagues who were standing by him had already compromised, On August 24, he decided to bow out by writing a resignation letter and addressed it to the Clerk of the House.

In a dramatic turn also, the Assembly, convened an emergency plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Lami Danladi-Ogenyi.

During the sitting, the Clerk of the House, Barr. Hwande, read the resignation letter on the floor of the House which was accepted by the members.

This singular act, created a vacuum that led to the nomination of the suspended lawmaker representing Makurdi North State Constituency, Alfred Emberga. Emberga said to be the man behind the attempt to impeach the former Speaker. Before his suspension had allegedly gone to government house inviting some of his colleagues to join forces with him to remove then speaker for disobeying the governor's instruction.

Furthermore, Emberga was the sole man to have sold the idea to the governor on the need to have the former Speaker removed to avoid  further disobedience from the House to Governor.

Emberga reportedly told the Governor that if Dajoh remain the speaker, he would continue to frustrate the lofty policies and programmes of his administration.

The lawmaker told the Governor to immediately scout for Dajoh's replacement if he actually wants to  complete his first tenure successfully and also go for his reelection in 2027.

Sources said the Governor who was afraid that Dajoh was beginning to wield enormous powers was said to have bought the idea and immediately anointed him, Emberga to be the next Speaker. 

During the emergency plenary, the House immediately lifted the suspension on him and three others, thereafter nominated and elected him as their speaker.

The scenario has generated controversies in the state. While many has fingered the governor for forcing the speaker to resign, others has hailed him for taking the bold step.

But the immediate past speaker, Aondona Dajoh has come  to say that political tensions account for his decision to resigned his position even though, he has moved on despite his forced  exit and was ready to embrace the future.

The former speaker in a statement, said was no longer news that he turned in a resignation letter as the Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly  24th day of August, 2025 and  had moved on.

He has expressed gratitude to his constituents for electing him into the 10th Assembly, and to his colleagues for entrusting him with the gavel as the first Speaker of the House. 

He also thanked Governor Hyacinth Alia, his aides, and Assembly staff for their support throughout his tenure and specifically reserved an appreciation for his wife, Kundumiyol, whom he described as “the best example of a supportive wife,” as well as his family, before giving glory to God for health, wisdom and grace.

Dajoh served as Speaker from June 5, 2023 to August 24, 2025 and his resignation may have been under duress, after his relationship with the Benue State Governor Rev. Hyacinth Alia became stained.

From what one can see, much-expected self-regulating mechanism is missing in this administration of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia. Thereafter, Alia insistence on the resignation by the former speaker, Aondona Dajoh call for  concern having invested in him so much to installed him as speaker and now spending so huge to have him removed again. This is a political miscalculation and a waste of government and personal resources here.