An Insight Into Alia’s Ten Years Development Plan [BSDP 2025 – 2034]

The Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia has unveiled a vision and development blueprint for Benue State over the next ten years.

The document is capped in a comprehensive document called the Benue State Development Plan, 2025-2034.

The plan represents the governor’s bold and visionary strategy for the next decade aimed at bringing about durable growth, fair development and inclusive governance in Benue State.

The Plan, amongst other things, seeks to unlock the full potentialities of the human and natural resources meant at ensuring profitability for all citizens of the State.

The state with her appellation as the Food Basket of the Nation, is endowed with enormous agricultural resources, arable lands, a hardworking populace, and heavy amounts of other natural endowments.

Inspite of these vast potentials, the state faces many challenges and has suffered from years of socioeconomic neglect, which has resulted in infrastructure shortfall, unemployment, mismanagement of public resources and the menace of insecurity, among others.

The Governor’s immediate drive is to tackle pragmatically these challenges head on and take Benue out of the woods. The BSDP 2025-2034 is a curated blueprint that, besides helping the government to deliver optimally, would serve as a guide to policymakers, investors, development partners, and citizens alike in building a more prosperous and resilient Benue State.

BSDP 2025-2034 is anchored on what has been christened Development Pillars which include:

Pillar 1: Security of lives and property

Governor Alia’s administration is not oblivious of the fact that the primary purpose of government is to guarantee security of her citizen.

The north-central state faces challenges of insecurity ranging from increasing cases of communal conflicts, invasion of homes and farms by armed herders, kidnapping, and banditry.

Curtailing this loom over is critical to achieving the state’s full economic potential, and ensuring the overall well-being of her citizens. This, Governor Alia is fully committed to stemming the tide of insecurity across the state.

Pillar 2: Agriculture and Rural Development

Governor Alia is aware of the comparative advantage that Benue holds in agriculture. Agriculture is the primary factor in growth and has the potential to make Benue State one of the most economically viable states in Nigeria and an agro-industrial hub of the nation.

Its high potential for employment, income, and livelihoods will be optimized during the Plan horizon of 2025-2034. The strategic objective for the agricultural sector is therefore to develop and modernize agriculture in Benue State, making it the driver of accelerated economic development, investment, food and nutrition security, food sovereignty,
and prosperity.

Pillar 3: Commerce and Industry

The strategic objective for this sector is to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive, encouraging home-grown businesses and innovation and investors with a business climate that prioritizes the ease of doing business. This will be achieved through public private partnerships and in collaboration with the Federal Government export promotion agencies.

Pillar 4: Infrastructure Development and Environment

Gov. Alia has it as a vision to aggressively address the infrastructure deficit and decay in the state knowing full well how critical infrastructure is linked to growth and sustainable development.

Pillar 5: Human Capital Development

Here the strategic objective is to develop human capacity to drive productivity, promote equitable opportunities, and protect the vulnerable (women, youths, and those with disabilities)

Pillar 6: Information and Communications Technology

Governor Alia hopes to create a Communication and Digital economy in Benue State that will optimize the growth and opportunities in the vibrant ICT sector in the Nigerian economy. BSDP sets a broad objective of transforming the State into a digitally inclusive, innovative, and
connected society where technology drives economic growth, improves quality of life, and enhances the efficient
delivery of government services.

Pillar 7: Political and Economic Governance

The quality of governance in the State will determine the extent to which Benue State achieves its development aspirations outlined in this Plan. This quality is
determined by the ability of
government to dene and communicate its strategic vision, its responsiveness, and its capacity to promote equity, inclusiveness, citizen participation, the rule of law, transparency, accountability,
and efficient and effective service
delivery. The institutional arrangements, legal and regulatory frameworks, policies, processes, and rules are crucial for improving the quality of governance.

BSDP is a comprehensive document that has detailed Gov Alia’s development plan and his strategic vision for Benue State as elaborated by the Benue State Budget and Economic Planning Commission.

Sir Tersoo Kula MNIPR,
Chief Press Secretary, Government House, Makurdi.