Benue State governor-elect, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has said that his focus, when he assumes office, will be to revive agriculture in the state, which he believes, can feed the nation.
He spoke to correspondents on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor-elect described the current state of affairs in the state civil service as critical condition.
Speaking on his plan to revive the state from what he said is a state of near collapse, Alia said “Once I’m sworn in, I know that what the good people of Benue want is progress and development and there’s so much that we need to put on track for things to work. Benue state is an agrarian zone and so we must focus on agriculture and upgrade it.
“Benue is very capable of feeding the whole nation. So, we are not just the food basket of the nation by name and I am hoping that we will up our game in agriculture and take care of the rest as well.
“It is sad that the life of civil service in the state is near collapse, it’s in the ICU. So, I just need to get in there and infuse life in it and keep it moving. We have a lot of backlog of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.
“So, already I got much on the desk to keep a good focus on and I remain hopeful that I am going to do just that.”
He observed that Benue owes salaries, pensions and gratuities, and therefore expressed his hope to remain focused to tackle the myriad of issues on his desk from May 29, 2023.
On the general elections, he commended President Buhari for making a firm decision for the elections to take place, noting that although people were expecting a perfect election, it may not have been perfect, but a number of areas in the country recorded good in the outcomes.
He said: “For someone to feel that we have never made the stride in the right directions I think that would be flaw of logic. So, we have done so much and I remain quite grateful. My visit is a solidarity visit and President leaves office in a matter of months, I came to wish him well. He has done so much for the nation. Remember, I am a Catholic priest and I prayed for all of us too and shared the blessings with him too.”
The governor-elect, who was accompanied on the visit to President Buhari by the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, also lamented the ethnic division that reared its head between the people of the state and Fulani herders, which he said was strange to the state.
Asked what he was going to do to address the tension arising from the state’s anti-grazing law, Alia said: ” One thing must remain clear. When you say that the atmosphere was quite tense, let it be on record that the Benue people are very hospital people.
“We are very friendly people and over the ages, we’ve lived with all cultures and different people. And so if some mishap had happened in the last eight years, thank God the eight years have expired.
“I want everyone to feel that Benue is a home for everyone. Remember, before I am stepping in there as a governor, our history reveals that we have all cultures in Benue and so it is, we have all cultures in Nigeria in Benue. So, I believe my time will not be any different.
“If there were some errors, I am coming to correct them. But I know for sure we are hospitable, we are friendly and the Benue State Assembly is also a knowledgeable Assembly. So the 10th Assembly is going to work for the people and do the work of the people.
“If by chance anybody perceived us to be a hostel state, please we are a renewed hope of Benue, a hospitable, friendly, law and order people. So, we are all welcome to Benue as we move in there.”
Asked if he would be probing his predecessor against the backdrop of his letter to the Benue Investment Property Company not to continue financial transactions with the incumbent governor, Alia said, “I haven’t looked at the books, so I wouldn’t want to be quite preemptive”.
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