Rev. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, Governor of Benue State, speaks to Demola Abimboye and Dapo Olaosebikan on his efforts to recreate Nigeria’s food basket. Excerpts:
Newswatch Plus: You celebrated two years of your administration on May 29, 2025; could you please share your perspective on your most remarkable achievements so far?
Governor: That’s a good question. Thank you very much. Before we came to where we are today, it was quite exciting to the people and myself. I was convinced that there was a need for me to come out for this and there was a lot of excitement with them when they heard I was coming out; so it excites me too; they literally pushed me out to campaign. There were a num-ber of things that generated heat in the way that I sincerely came out to contest. So, let me build context to it being that the state of affairs in the state was quite deplorable and the system had collapsed and there was need for revival and a good fight for the soul of the state. So, when we came out, the people vowed they were having me in and that they would vote in a way no one had received votes in the state. That excites me and that tells you the high level of trust they had; they knew that I was going into a social contract with the people and God and I took it very seriously as well.
When we came in, all establishments were so grounded a few that were still breathing were comatose. We began from ground zero. So we worked arduously to ensure that life started coming back to the people. There was a lot of disenfranchisement from civil servants; pension-ers were called dead people. Nobody was going to work at the local government and the state levels. The situation was very pitiable and we inherited a debt of N359 billion. And, for us to come out from all of these, the people needed to know that we truly came to work.
However, people felt we came in with a magic wand and that everything would turn around working very effectively; that was never the case. There was no magic wand but planning. We had to be strategic and purposeful in executing with people who share the same vision and would embark on the same mission with you.
Newswatch Plus: Did you invite other people, especially those in opposition parties, into be-lieving in your vision and mandate for Benue State at the early stage of your administration?
Governor: That was what we tried to do with people who shared the same vision and the same mission with us. But, before we came in, so many people had been recycled to the point that they didn’t have any political value anymore. They had lost their esteem; they had lost their political value. People no longer accepted them because they could not deliver to the peo-ple. So, we came in and instantly made the difference and I am happy where we are in terms of delivering dividends of democracy to those who elected us to serve them.
Newswatch Plus: How has insecurity prevented you from performing optimally in the past two years?
Governor: In the last one year and ten months, we didn’t have any problems and any security anxiety in the state. But then, those from within the ranks started their ramblings; pushing and creating insecurities for everyone. Usually, there is internal land squabble, land crisis, squabbles here and there. But these were either intra-local or inter-local governments. So, they never es-calated to the highest levels of insecurity.
But in the last two months precisely, it now became something out of proportion. The state was fully faced by insurgencies and attacks. We’ve been attacked in a quite unimaginable pro-portion. We lost quite a number of lives. People, particularly some in governments – very func-tional people in government, politicized insecurity, which is quite sad. When people are losing their lives and properties, you don’t bring in elements of politics. But this they did very con-veniently until we set some panels to fish out who did what.
The six local governments that became much in the front lines of the insecurity are Kwande, Katsina-Ala, Ushongo, Goma, Gwer West and Agatu. But along the line, Gwer West and Guma experienced a lot of intervention and so everything was quite scaled down. People started going back to their farms. Even now as we speak, when Guma went down, Agatu sprang up again. So we’re talking about six to seven local governments. We have done so much work, enormous work. Primarily that’s the extent to where we have come. We have done so much work that could have spanned eight years.
I feel that very remarkably we still have the people, we’ve kept the people intact. We have the blueprint and we are following it religiously. We’re doing the things we have promised and tak-ing care of things we never budgeted for as they spring up. We are very confident that it is dur-ing this administration that we are going to get rid of insecurity in those three most hit local governments.
What’s interesting in the insecurity of a thing is that according to data, before we came in, IDPs in Benue amounted to two million. But since we came in, the number has trimmed down. Actually, it went down to 500,000. Then we had this high wave of insecurity attacks again. Now, we are talking of 600,000 people in these IDP camps that are established around the state. So, it’s been quite remarkable.
God and His own grace have been quite faithful to keep me to the point. Before our admin-istration came in salaries were never paid; we take care of salaries now. Pensions were never paid but we now pay pensions promptly. As I’m speaking here now, I’ll be able to take care of the state’s two months’ salaries and pensions without blinking. These were the strategies we did to stay with the people and they have been yearning for me to continue and I’m very excited about that.
Newswatch Plus: Sir, what specific strategies have you deployed to address this insecurity crisis?
Governor: Quite a chunk. When we came in spite of the high levels of manifestation of the insecurity, there were no vehicles for them to be able to run around. So, we got 100 Hilux trucks and 600 motorcycles that were distributed to the different security apparatuses in the state for them to be able to move around.
We have Operation Sanda, which is a joint task force, comprising the Military, Police and Civil Defence. Then we have the CPG, Civil Protection Guards, which was recently formed. We strengthened them and equipped them with manpower. We will continue to do that. The Federal Government has played its own roles as well. They bought two Armoured Personnel Carriers, APC, for us. They promised to send some more. There’s a very robust relationship between us and heads of security.
There is another robust relationship with the traditional rulers in those localities as we can only do something positive in unity. So with this kind of cooperation, the insecurity in those places is diminishing.
Security is a task for everyone. The people need to be educated and re-educated to know and understand that security is the business of everyone. So, our people have become the first re-spondent to anything in security at their own places.
We are employing high technology to fight the insurgencies. Before now, we would say it was just the herders and farmers’ crisis. The herders and farmers are like struggling for the land re-source – that they will farm and graze their cattle. But, this has gone way beyond that. The tra-ditional herders we knew came down here, at most, with machetes and then with their sticks and their cows and that was it. The wave of what we experience now is the attackers, the in-vaders, the terrorists, the bandits, the killers are no longer hiding behind nothing; they are up front to fight, kill, maim, drive people away and land-grab. Why are they fighting? To drive people away, to kill people, to take possession. So, the best tool now to support all the efforts we’ve been putting in there is to deploy high technology and that’s where we are.
Newswatch Plus: We have observed three major programmes in your attempts to re-engineer Benue State. First is agriculture, next is health and then education. Can you briefly tell us what you have done in boosting agriculture because Benue State used to be known as the food basket of the nation?
Governor: For some reasons, since 1990, I think that people who have been watching matters of agriculture have learned to wait for easy money that came from the country’s oil and dis-tributed to states. So, agriculture was literally forgotten. Less people went to the farm, young people were doing the farming. That now caused a problem. Past administrations did not even simply think of agriculture. We were getting to a state of negative priorities, but we came in to see how we can revive agriculture in the state. Bit by bit, slowly we are making those strides.
When we came in, we bought fertilizers and distributed it to the people at subsidised prices. And we also supplied some inputs like herbicides, pesticides, and seedlings. We also engaged extension workers for people to know what land is appropriate for what seed. That has been helping us very well in getting the IDPs go back to farm and primarily be able to stay in their localities and in their farms. So that is where we are headed. We have drawn a Benue State IDP sustainable solution which is expected to cushion them for the start and have them reinvented economically. We’re working assiduously to ensure that that is achieved. Our aim again is to take them back to their ancestral farmlands. We need to start from somewhere.
We also bought some tractors for all the local governments. They are still there for those farmers on a commercial basis. They are taking advantage of tractors. The renting is just for them to ensure that the tractor fuel tank is not empty. So, it’s still for their own good and bene-fits.
We have come up with a Young Farmers’ Club for the young people who are quite inclined to farming. There are incentives for them as well because we want them to stay and work on the farms. They need some good cushioning. With the advent of the Young Farmers Club, they want to enjoy the benefits of this programme.
We also formed BAR – Benue Agric. Revolution, a sort of Green Revolution. We’ve already set aside a certain amount of money to give to cooperatives and non-cooperatives to enlarge their spaces in terms of productivity. We hope everybody gets back to the farm. This has been going on for quite some time.
Newswatch Plus: What about education, the bedrock of any development?
Governor: In the area of education, as I speak, the number of schools are mounting. To achieve our aims, we made the budget last year for education to take the lion share of 15%. This coming year we are going to increase that. We’ve already mapped it out.
Infrastructural development in our schools is the bedrock of our plan. We have done massive construction of new classrooms, libraries, sanitation facilities, and perimeter fences. Comput-er-based learning has been introduced in model schools like the UBEC Smart School in Ma-kurdi with many more to follow. Our students have excelled in national and international competitions, a testimony to our renewed focus on quality education.
We have constructed and renovated over 253 school structures, including modern storey buildings. This is coupled with the supply of over 13,347 units of classroom furniture, includ-ing facilities for Early Childhood Care Development and Education, ECCDE. We have com-menced the state-wide distribution of whiteboards to phase out chalkboards permanently in Benue State.
We’re going to create a special science school programme which will enable our students to be ICT savvy. We have trained many young minds, about 10,000 while at least 20,000 fresh trainees have been registered. Once they are done with that stage, we get them into the ICT les-sons. At the end of the programmes, they know they can stay here and work even elsewhere.
These initiatives are more than just milestones; they are the building blocks of a smarter, more inclusive, and economically resilient Benue State.
In just two years, our administration has laid a transformative foundation for Benue State’s journey into the digital age. From the outset, we recognised that a robust digital economy is es-sential for sustainable development, job creation, and global competitiveness.
Ours is the first administration in the history of Benue State to establish three landmark insti-tutions dedicated to digital advancement: Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digi-tal Economy; the Benue State Digital Infrastructure Company, BDIC; and the Benue State Digi-tal Infrastructure Services Management and Enforcement Agency, BENDISMEA. These agen-cies are now at the forefront of driving digital policy, infrastructure development, and regula-tory oversight to ensure the state’s seamless integration into the national and global digital eco-system.
In a nutshell, we have matched policy with action by investing heavily in digital infrastructure and innovative systems that are already enhancing government efficiency and transparency.
Newswatch Plus: What about the health sector?
Governor: In the health sector, we just concluded the renovation or building of new clinics and hospitals ranging from 200 to 300. We have 22 general hospitals now. There would have been 30 but the one in Otukpo is already converted to a Federal Medical Centre. So we are rein-venting them. We have already begun the search for the best medical bright minds to man them. The ones we have here in terms of manpower, are extremely short.
To ensure effective service delivery, we were the first in Nigeria to implement the Revised Medical Residency Training Fund, MRTF, 2023 for resident doctors at the revised rate. We re-introduced the medical bond scheme for students of the School of Health Science, Benue State University Makurdi by approving N100,000 per student.
We have opened and commenced full clinical services at the Muhammadu Buhari Mother and Child Hospital to reduce maternal mortality rate in the state and also offer free medical service to women and children below the age of five.
To ensure 24/7 power supply, we have hooked up the Benue State Teaching Hospital to 33KVA and completed installation of 300kva Solar panel for the hospital. A 50kv solar battery system has also been installed to augment power supply in the hospital.
We have undertaken a total overhaul and renovation and restructuring of the Benue State Teaching Hospital including all wards and departments and the Doctors Quarters.
On health workers’ welfare, we have promoted all staff and paid all their allowances; em-ployed over 500 new staff to augment the workforce to meet up with the increased customer demand.
We have a new dialysis unit with two functional new machines; installed an eco-friendly and smokeless incinerator; and purchased an ECU-110 electrosurgical generator for the O & G De-partment. The list is endless. Our aim was and remains to give our people the best medical at-tention.
Newswatch Plus: We noted a gigantic Oncology Center springing up at Benue State Univer-sity Teaching Hospital, BSUTH. What informed that development?
Governor: There is a very good need and edge for the people to have this Oncology Centre and Unit. For some reasons, the younger population are coming up with different diagnoses especially of cancer. Unfortunately, not many people have the advantages of accessing medical institutions where treatment are offered freely. We needed to have one here in Makurdi instead of travelling down to Enugu, Jos or Abuja. Realising that none of our neighbouring states has got something like this, it will play out to our own advantage as people start to make the Teach-ing Hospital of Father Adasu University a centre of medical tourism. Tourist attraction is the thing I had hoped for which first made me invest heavily in the health sector. So, thanks to God, we’re going to continually reap the fruits of all these investments.
Newswatch Plus: Could you give us a hint of your plan as the administration moves into its third year?
Governor: Yes, our resolve is unshaken in spite of all the obstacles. We have faced challenges – insecurity, political distractions and resource constraints; but we remain undeterred.
We can only call on all communities to unite for peace, for progress and for the great future of Benue.
