The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has come under fire for ordering the lineup of young students under bad weather to welcome President Bola Tinubu despite declaring a public holiday for the president’s visit.
A viral video shared by @NewsCentralTV showed the moment the young schoolchildren stood patiently under the rain, while waiting to welcome Tinubu during his visit to Benue State on Wednesday.
This comes two days after Tinubu announced plans to visit Benue in response to mounting criticism over his silence in the wake of repeated, deadly attacks in the state.
Recall that the Benue State Government declared June 18 a public holiday in honour of the president’s visit. However, the government’s decision to line up students to welcome the president despite the bad weather had sparked outrage, with many questioning the necessity of such an exercise.
Commenting on X, One ofTheRareOnes@YadooAdz, said: “It’s been raining all morning here in Makurdi, and these heartless and wicked people are keeping other people’s children under the rain waiting for Tinubu’s motorcade to pass. It is so sad to watch,” he posted.
Another X user, Doonen@Krysrtal_lus said, “Under the rain and in the sun indeed. Parents well done. These children have been in the rain since morning waiting.”