Governor Alia Halts Federal Program Over “Ortom Loyalists,” Leaves Thousands Jobless

In what is fast becoming one of the most controversial decisions of his administration, Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has completely suspended the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in the state after a bitter clash with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.

The crisis began when the federal ministry issued a directive ordering all states to expand their existing vendor lists to a minimum of 8,500 beneficiaries in line with new national guidelines. Benue, like other states, was simply required to add new vendors to the already approved list inherited from the previous administration of Samuel Ortom.

Instead of complying, Governor Alia instructed the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Hon. Kunde Aondowase, and the Permanent Secretary, Sir James Anodoakaa Iorpuu, to scrap the entire existing register and replace it with a fresh list. The reason, according to sources within government house: the old vendors were appointed under Ortom and are therefore “loyal to the former governor, not to me.”

Local government chairmen were handed ten nomination slots each, while the rest were shared among politicians loyal to the current administration. Reports even emerged that underage children of some government supporters were penciled onto the new list.

When Governor Alia eventually forwarded the replacement list to the federal ministry for approval, it was rejected outright. Officials in Abuja reminded the state that the directive was to expand the existing list, not to purge and replace approved vendors. The ministry insisted that already-registered cooks could not be removed without due process.

Furious at the rejection, Governor Alia reportedly ordered an immediate halt to the entire school feeding programme in Benue State. As a result, thousands of women who had been earning a living as school feeding vendors since the programme began under the previous administration have been thrown out of work overnight.

While the federal government has since rolled out improved remuneration nationwide, with cooks now earning a minimum of ₦250,000 monthly plus allowances in compliant states, Benue vendors have been left with nothing. Children who benefited from the daily meals have also lost out.

Critics have described the governor’s action as vindictive and petty, arguing that punishing ordinary women and schoolchildren because of perceived political loyalty to a predecessor is the height of governance failure. “This is not about loyalty to any individual,” one affected vendor told reporters in Makurdi. “This is our daily bread. We are not politicians.”

The suspension has sparked outrage across the state, with many asking why a programme designed to fight hunger and keep children in school is now being used as a tool in the endless political war between the Alia and Ortom camps.

For now, the people of Benue wait, hungry and sidelined, while the governor and the federal ministry remain locked in a standoff that no one asked for.

As one viral post put it: “We shouted YES FATHER for too long. Now we are asking, WHY FATHER?”