Terseer Ugbor, the lawmaker representing the Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency of Benue State in the House of Representatives, has attributed the recent surge in insecurity in the state to a lack of cooperation among political leaders. The lawmaker, who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), criticized the state government under Governor Hyacinth Alia for what he termed “bad politics” in addressing the escalating security challenges.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, May 9, Ugbor highlighted a concerning lack of synergy between the state government and the National Assembly members from Benue. He stated, “Unfortunately, there has been not very much synergy, not very much engagements between the Benue State government and the members of the national assembly. Since I became a member of the House of Reps, I have never been invited by the governor of Benue to government house to have any sort of discussion and my community experiences one of the highest levels of insecurity in the state.”
Ugbor expressed frustration over the lack of engagement with lawmakers, revealing that he had reached out multiple times to the governor and even sought to involve the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief efforts, but his attempts had been unsuccessful. He added, “I have asked to be invited, I have reached out many times, and I have tried to do my best, reaching out to NEMA to provide palliatives.”
He also noted that he and other lawmakers were excluded from key stakeholder meetings convened by the governor, including a recent security committee set up to address the state’s insecurity. “We are not invited (to stakeholder engagements). Recently, there was a security committee that was set up in the state to look at the insecurity and we were not invited. The government of Benue doesn’t think members of the National Assembly have a role to play or are important enough to be invited to the security committee set up to look at the insecurity in Benue.”
When questioned about why the governor might be excluding him and others from these meetings, Ugbor attributed the issue to politics, calling it “bad politics.” He said, “It is just politics; it is just bad politics, really. What else can it be? I am giving you a typical example, there was a security committee set up from my local government for the insecurity in my local government and I was not invited.”
Despite these challenges, Ugbor emphasized that the rising insecurity in Benue should not be politicized. He said, “The growing insecurity in Benue State cannot be politicised… We’re ready to work with the governor and every arm of government to bring peace to the state.”
Ugbor also highlighted the severe impact of the insecurity, noting that over 40 percent of arable land in the state has been seized by armed herdsmen, leaving farming communities vulnerable. Recent attacks, particularly in Ukum and Logo local government areas, have claimed over 50 lives, contributing to the growing sense of fear and instability in the region.
In response to the recent violence, Governor Alia has called on the Federal Government to intervene and address the worsening security situation. Following his visit to the affected areas, he condemned the attacks on vulnerable communities and urged security agencies to take stronger action to prevent further bloodshed. He said, “We need greater action from the security agencies to nip these killings in the bud.”
