FULL TEXT OF NEW YEAR MESSAGE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, REV. FR. DR. HYACINTH IORMEM ALIA, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF BENUE STATE, DELIVERED AT THE CHAPEL OF GRACE, MAKURDI, ON WEDNESDAY, 1ST JANUARY, 2025
My good people of Benue,
2. With a deep sense of excitement and gratitude to the Almighty God, I want to congratulate you all for stepping into this brand-new year – 2025. We could not have made it without God’s mercy and grace.
3. This New Year presents to us an opportunity to be better than where we were last year. As a state and as a people, the New Year celebration marks the consolidation of our RENEWED HOPE, new possibilities and opportunities for us to improve our standard of living.
4. It also affords us the chance to build on the very foundations of development which we have laid, especially in the area of agriculture, education, economy, infrastructure, youth empowerment, social welfare, poverty alleviation and the likes.
5. Last year, we all saw and felt indicators of a new Benue which you and I are building-from the establishment of the Benue Multi-purpose ICT and Fashion Hub, to the revitalization/remodeling of the Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation. This was coupled with the unveiling of the ZEVA Premium Lager Beer just a few weeks ago, as well as the ongoing construction of the Cancer treatment centre at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi.
6. We are not only working towards making our state a hub of industrial and economic activities; we are also determined to realize a Benue that sustainably breathes the air of premium quality healthcare services in tune with global best practices.
7. This can only be possible through effective security and protection of lives and property. In view, the recent unveiling of the Benue Civil Protection Guard code-named “Anyam Nyor”, and the donation of vehicles and gadgets to the mainstream security outfit and agencies, is a testament of our “eyes on the security prize”.
8. Also, 0ur administration towards the end of last year, implemented a N75,000 minimum wage for all civil servants in the state, N5,000 above that of the Federal Government. The aim is to improve the welfare of our workers and enhance optimum productivity. I therefore, use this medium to call on the private sector across the state to try to implement same as quickly as possible in order to ensure parity in welfare within the workforce.
9. Agricultural development as always been my priority since we came on board. This is why in the course of the year, our administration donated tractors and sums of money to community interest groups to undertake climate-smart agricultural activities under the Community Revolving Fund (CRF) scheme of the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) scheme.
10. We shall continue to ensure yearly supply of farm inputs including fertilizer, pesticide, and improved seedling to farmers at subsidized rates, to boost agricultural output in the state.
11. Meanwhile, apart from the ongoing massive construction of roads across the state, last year, we also awarded the construction and refurbishing of buildings as classroom blocks across over 100 sites at our public primary schools. Moreover, education is the key that liberates any given society.
12. Barely two days ago, I signed into law the 2025 budget of ‘Human Capital Development, Food Security and Digital Economy’. This coincided with the launch of the ‘Benue State 10-year Development Plan’, amongst other blueprints. I dare to tell you that Benue is yet to see the best under our belt.
13. Fellow Benue citizens, I have only chosen to highlight a few out of so much that we did last year which you have been seeing and feeling the impact already.
14. Let us be reminded that the task of building a new and better Benue lies in your hands and mine; it is a task anchored on mutual trust and bound by clearly defined obligations, all subsumed in our social contract.
15. While I continue striving to keep my own terms of that contract, I want to sincerely commend you all for your steadfast cooperation, patience and firm belief in my ability to stir the Benue ship.
16. I want to reassure you that, from the Federal to the state, down to the local government levels respectively, there are concerted efforts by the various tiers of government, to engender development, self-reliance, which all culminate into better standards of living. Although all these may take a while, it is a painful and gradual necessity that we all must face and sacrifice if truly we care about our own generation and the ones to come after us.
17. Change never comes about easily, especially positive change in our new Benue. Naturally, it meets resistance, suspicion, fear of the unknown, and insistence on maintenance of the status quo.
18. Our administration is more concerned about creating a system that benefits every individual and group in Benue – rich or poor, young or old, white or black. We are more determined in using those resources to build institutions, facilities, infrastructure, policies and enabling environments that are breeding grounds for growth irrespective of tribe, race or religion.
19. We will continue to build on the positives and goods that are already begun; our administration welcomes your new and different ideas and different thinking. We will ensure an even more formidable welfare of everyone in the state that focuses on creating economic and financial independence, liberties, and full scare growth and development that assures us all of a new Benue. We will continue to work for the masses giving our renewed hope and blessings of the new thinking and progress.
20. Our administration will always ensure the greater good for the greater number.
21. I wish you all a prosperous and fun-filled new year.
22. Thank you, and God bless Benue State.
