Catholic priest sworn in as Governor after winning political election

Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic priest, has been sworn in as the Governor of Benue State in Nigeria.

He took over from Samuel Ortom, whose tenure elapsed on Monday, May 29.

The inauguration ceremony, held at the IBB Square in Makurdi, marked a significant milestone for both the state and the clergy.

Dignitaries, religious leaders and citizens from across the state gathered to witness this remarkable event.

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Reverend Father Alia, alongside his deputy, Sam Odeh, who took the oath of office, pledged to serve the people of Benue State with utmost sincerity, transparency and accountability.

Suspension of Fr. Hyacinth Alia

The Catholic Diocese of Gboko, Benue state, in May 2022 suspended Fr. Hyacinth Alia, one of its priests, for joining the 2023 governorship race in Nigeria.

Fr. Alia had, in April 2022, declared his intention to contest the 2023 governorship election in Benue state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He had also submitted his nomination and expression of interest forms earlier in May.

Speaking at a media briefing on May 11, Alia had said his mission was to ensure that government continues to prioritise the needs of residents.

“Benue is broken enough and it’s time to fix it. I joined partisan politics to salvage the state from collapse,” he had said at the roll-out of his seven-point agenda for the state.

But in a letter dated May 20, 2022, and addressed to priests and members of the congregation, Most Rev. William Avenya, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Gboko, said the canon law of the Catholic church forbids its clerics from being involved in partisan politics.

Bishop Avenya said Fr. Alia has been barred from public ministry until “he ceases from contumacy”, adding that the priest had been admonished severally before the action was taken.

“I write to communicate to you the suspension of my priest, Revd. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, from public ministry after series of admonitions to him Ex can. 1371, 2° CIC,” the statement said.

“The Mother Church does not allow her clerics to get involved in partisan politics on their own Ex Can. 285, 3 CIC.

“You are aware that my son, your brother and your priest, has purchased the party forms to
contest for the Office of the Governor of Benue State under the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is totally against our vocation.

“Therefore, to respond to the spiritual and pastoral needs of the Church in the Catholic Diocese of Gboko, I have suspended him from the exercise of the sacred ministry.

“This canonical suspension takes effect from the moment it is communicated to him and lasts until he ceases from contumacy,” the statement added.

Section 1371(2) of the Code of Canon Law provides for sanctions for “a person who otherwise does not obey a legitimate precept or prohibition of the Apostolic See, an ordinary, or a superior and who persists in disobedience after a warning”.

Meanwhile, Section 285(3) of the Code of Canon Law also states that “clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power.”