Governor Hyacient Alia has solicited the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria to rebuild Benue’s economy through revolution in the agriculture and mining sectors.

This was contained in a statement on Thursday by Mr Alia’s media aide, Bridget Tikyaa.

According to the statement, the governor made the appeal when he paid a courtesy visit to the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in Abuja.

Mr Alia, who said Benue has vast opportunities in agriculture, solid minerals, and other areas,  urged the CBN to fully support the government in harnessing them for local and international markets.

He called on the apex bank to support Benue with its expertise in generating accurate data in all the key areas of development for proper planning and strategic engagement with investors.

The governor disclosed that Benue has established a statistics bureau to enhance its statistical system, boost the economy through job creation and foreign exchange activities, and support the agricultural sector.

The Benue governor also sought CBN’s support in implementing favourable monetary policies to stabilise the economy and control inflation.

He also sought training and capacity-building programmes for financial managers and policymakers in the state to enhance their ability to manage Benue’s economy more effectively. 

The governor requested the CBN to facilitate partnerships with development finance institutions to fund large-scale projects such as agricultural mechanisation, industrial parks, special economic zones, and major infrastructural projects to spur economic development across the state.

Mr Cardoso commended Mr Alia for the visit and thanked him for the initiatives to diversify the economy.

“We have identified these bottlenecks and will advise, assist, and highlight ways to cushion their effect through various interventions like the nationwide fertilizer donations.

“Measures by the Federal government to bridge the food supply deficit, especially the 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities (maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas), amongst others, will moderate domestic food prices,” he said.

Mr Cardoso assured the governor that the CBN was ready to work with the Benue government to boost the state’s economy in various areas.

(NAN)