The Benue State government said on Saturday that incessant
attacks hurled through the social media were painting the state in a bad
light and discouraging investors from patronising it.
“The social media attacks have been very severe; they paint
Benue in bad light and discourage investors from coming in,” Mr.
Lawrence Onoja Jr., Commissioner for Information and Orientation, said
in Makurdi.
Onoja Jr. said that the negative comments posted on the
social media were “mischievous tales” targeted at discouraging investors
from investing into government’s agriculture-driven industrialization.
“Sometimes what you read in the social media amazes one; how
can one deliberately plant lies just to pull down his own state
government and stall its growth?
“`The situation is regrettable and simply sad. Government works very hard, but its opponents keep discrediting it,” he fumed.
He, however, said that the Gov Samuel Ortom-led
administration would not be discouraged by “such mischief makers and
rumour-mongers”.
The commissioner said that government was planning an
Information Summit that would deal with the menace of the social media
and tackle rumour mongering.
Onoja Jr. said that government was transparent in its
financial transactions, adding that all contracts had always followed
due processes.
“Government has nothing to hide; it is laughable to allege
that the governor awards contracts to himself. Contracts are discussed
and endorsed by the State Executive Council.
“The governor vets all expenditures; he is strict and there
is no way he can award contracts to himself. The executive council
directs the ministries and payments are done through the Ministry of
Finance,” he explained.
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