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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has renewed his call for state policing and defended his administration’s record on security and local government autonomy, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms were beginning to deliver tangible benefits to the state.
Speaking at a press briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team at the State House, Abuja, he said community-based security structures and local intelligence are central to sustaining the relative peace the state had enjoyed as well as making the state attractive to visitors, including medical tourists.
“My thoughts on state security are that it is a very good idea and I am among the early governors who proposed state policing. The federal police are working, but local people understand their terrain better. People from an area know strangers more easily, gather intelligence faster and are often more effective because they know what is expected of them,” he said.
The governor listed existing community arrangements, comprising the Civil Protection Guard, Ainnamo, Operation Zenda and several vigilance groups, as key elements of Benue’s security architecture. He said the state was also strengthening intelligence gathering and surveillance across frontline communities to monitor, track and respond proactively to emerging threats.
“For anyone to come into the state, security must remain a top priority and we have worked hard to ensure that. If the state were not safe, people would not continue to come there, including vulnerable people such as the sick,” he said.
He acknowledged that insecurity has not been completely defeated but said progress was visible. “This is one single administration in the last three years, from the federal down to us at the state level, that has fought insecurity to a standstill,” he said, adding that relative peace had returned to the state as evidenced in the return of farmers to their fields.
He warned against politicising security challenges, arguing that turning security into a political weapon undermines lives and public safety. “People have turned even matters of security into politics. When you do that, you’re playing with people’s lives,” he said.
He praised traditional rulers and community leaders for helping to calm tensions and called for continued cooperation.
Linking the security gains to the federal support, he said security agencies received equipment, including helicopters, motorbikes and riverine boats, and that operatives in frontline local government areas were provided with additional support to bolster operations. “We acquired 120 helicopters and over 620 motorbikes for different security agencies just to enable them to be effective at what they are doing,” he said.
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On governance, he insisted that Benue has fully complied with the president’s local government autonomy reforms, describing autonomy as sacrosanct. “We have complied 100 percent. When I came in, only the legislature had full autonomy. I made it clear to local government leaders that autonomy is a law and they have it,” he said.
He said councils now execute projects, particularly road works, without interference and have declared a state of emergency on road infrastructure, turning many areas into active worksites.
“We now have less headache because my role is mainly supervisory. All I do is monitor, cross-check and ask questions when necessary,” Alia said, adding that autonomy has improved accountability and delivery at the grassroots. “Once the right people are in those positions, the system runs more smoothly.”
On economy, he credited President Tinubu’s reforms with strengthening Benue’s fiscal position and expanding the state’s capacity to meet longstanding development needs. “One of the most visible outcomes of the reforms has been the significant increase in allocations to states from the Federation Account. Benue State, like other sub-nationals, has witnessed improved fiscal inflows,” he said.
Those improved revenues, the governor said, enabled his administration to clear salary and pension arrears that some workers and retirees had endured for years.
He said his government declared a state of emergency on infrastructure when he assumed office and has since worked on 550 kilometres of roads and reconstructed more than 422 roads, particularly in suburban and rural communities. “If you go to the metropolis now, every place is turning to a worksite,” he said.
He also highlighted the gains in health and industry, saying primary healthcare facilities have been remodelled and upgraded, attracting patients from outside the state. He said industries such as Food Basket Breweries, Bensona juice and the Taraku mill were being revived and positioned to attract investors. “We have freed those assets and we are just at the stage of signing with some big establishment to come and take over,” he said.
Agriculture, he added, remains central to Benue’s recovery. The state has provided free fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, subsidised tractors and expanded mechanisation, producing a notable increase in farm output. “Everything you talk about for economic growth of the state must have agriculture,” he said.
The governor pledged continued prudent and transparent management of newfound resources. “Every additional resource accruing to the state will continue to be utilised very responsibly and transparently,” he said, urging citizens to remain patient and supportive as reforms deepen. “I remain very optimistic that the benefits of the ongoing reforms will become more evident as economic stabilisation progresses.”
Alia concluded by reiterating the link between enhanced security, local autonomy and development, saying coordinated reforms across sectors were beginning to yield visible results in roads, health, agriculture and industrial revival and that sustaining those gains would require vigilance, good governance and community cooperation.
