Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has called for a long-term development master plan, modelled after Lagos’ blueprint, to drive sustainable development in the state.

Mr Alia spoke during a media chat with the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Presidential Media Team, led by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday in Makurdi.

The team is in Benue State to inspect completed and ongoing Federal Government and state infrastructure projects across the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

President Bola Tinubu developed Lagos’ long-term development blueprint during his tenure as governor from 1999 to 2007, laying the foundation for successive administrations to sustain Lagos’ transformation.

Mr Alia said Benue State needed a development blueprint that would provide clear direction for successive governments, citing Lagos State, where a master plan had guided development over decades.

According to him, Lagos’ transformation over the past 25 years demonstrated the importance of a consistent development plan that successive administrations could faithfully implement.

“Each administration that comes in now takes a look at this one, two, three, four taken care of, so I’m going to take care of one, two, three, four,” Mr Alia said.

He stressed that the absence of a long-term development master plan had hampered continuity and slowed development in the state .

The governor said Benue’s large geographical size, comprising 23 Local Government Areas and a population of about seven million, made coordinated long-term planning particularly important.

He said his administration had introduced reforms because the previous approach of doing things repeatedly without achieving different results could no longer deliver the development desired by residents.

Mr Alia acknowledged that reforms often attracted resistance, particularly from status quo beneficiaries but said his administration remained committed to changes capable of producing tangible improvements across the state.

He said the reforms had enabled the government to expand infrastructure, improve primary healthcare and education, while ensuring that workers’ salaries and pension obligations were paid consistently.

The governor said his administration removed school fees for pupils from Basic One to Basic Nine in public schools, describing the policy as an investment in families and human capital.

He also cited improvements in healthcare delivery, saying residents should no longer travel long distances to access treatment for common ailments when functional primary and secondary facilities could serve them locally.

According to him, the government’s road projects were equally important because roads connected farms to markets, allowing farmers to move produce efficiently and strengthening economic activity within communities.

Mr Alia attributed the administration’s ability to execute projects to prudent financial management.

“My administration adopts a policy of pinching the pennies to ensure available resources served public interests,” he said.

He said increased federal allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy had provided states with additional resources, but stressed that such funds must be deployed according to their intended purposes.

The governor said Benue State was also working to increase internally generated revenue, adding that the state had significant economic potential in agriculture, oil and gas, and solid minerals.

He disclosed that Benue had deposits of 43 different solid minerals, several of which were commercially viable, while efforts were underway to develop the state’s emerging oil and gas opportunities.

Mr Alia said better exploitation of the state’s natural resources would improve its revenue base and reduce dependence on allocations from the Federation Account, thereby creating more resources for development.

On his administration’s relationship with the Federal Government, the governor described it as “superb,” saying improved cooperation had helped the state attract greater attention and opportunities from the centre.

He said the renewed relationship had also enabled Benue State to host major national engagements, including a planned security summit, which would bring stakeholders together to discuss ways of addressing insecurity.

Mr Alia said his administration would continue to pursue reforms, infrastructure development and prudent financial management.

The governor, however, stressed that a comprehensive master plan remained essential to preserve the gains beyond his tenure.

(NAN)