Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has announced plans to close some Internally Displaced Persons camps across the state following improvements in the security situation.
Alia disclosed this 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.
The team was in Benue to inspect completed and ongoing Federal Government and state infrastructure projects across the state’s 23 local government areas.
According to the governor, improved security, with support from the Federal Government, has brought relative peace to several communities and encouraged many displaced residents to return home voluntarily.
He said some returnees had already gone back to their communities to resume farming, while others were rebuilding their homes and restoring their livelihoods.
Alia explained that the security situation was being closely monitored through security agencies deployed across the local government areas, traditional institutions and residents who provide information about developments in their communities.
The governor recalled that 15 IDP camps were established across Benue following attacks that forced thousands of residents from their homes. He said the improving security situation was gradually changing the circumstances that led to the establishment of the camps.
“We are already making some plans to close down some because the IDP occupants have voluntarily gone back to do their farming,” Alia said.
He added that the state government was working with international organisations, including the United Nations and the International Organisation for Migration, to develop lasting solutions for displaced persons.
Alia stressed that the aim was not simply to send displaced residents back to their farms only for them to flee again. Rather, he said, the government was working towards creating safer conditions that would allow them to remain in their communities and rebuild their lives.
The governor said the declining population of the camps was encouraging, noting that a number of returnees had resumed farming and were reconstructing their homes in their ancestral communities.
He expressed optimism that continued security efforts would enable more displaced residents to return permanently, rebuild their livelihoods and contribute to Benue’s agricultural economy.
Beyond security, Alia highlighted several areas where his administration has focused attention, including road infrastructure. He said the government declared a state of emergency on roads, leading to improved connectivity in different parts of the state.
According to him, urban renewal projects are also ongoing, while major roads in several townships have been reconstructed or upgraded to improve transportation and support economic activities.
On education, the governor said his administration was rehabilitating hundreds of local government primary schools that had suffered years of neglect.
He disclosed that 9,700 teachers had been recruited for primary schools as part of efforts to strengthen basic education and improve learning conditions across the state.
Alia also spoke about developments in the healthcare sector, saying primary healthcare facilities had been upgraded while efforts were made to improve the standard of the state’s teaching hospital.
He said the teaching hospital had begun attracting patients from neighbouring states, partly because of the availability of specialist services and a VIP wing that has become popular among some patients.
The governor further disclosed that medical equipment secured through collaboration involving the United States government and subnational authorities was expected to arrive in Benue for distribution to primary healthcare facilities across the local government areas.
Alia said his administration had remained focused on delivering on its commitments to the people, stressing that political promises should be backed by deliberate action and results that citizens can see and feel.
He also expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for its support, noting that the completion of infrastructure projects would allow residents to experience the benefits of government programmes more directly.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Benue State Government after the media engagement, Onanuga thanked Governor Alia and his deputy, Samuel Ode, for the hospitality extended to the visiting team.
Onanuga explained that he brought senior media practitioners to Benue to enable them see firsthand the infrastructure projects and other developments being undertaken by both the Federal Government and the state administration.
He commended the governor for reviving previously inactive facilities, including the Tarakum Mill, Otobi Water Works and the state brewery, describing the projects as important steps towards boosting economic activity.
The presidential spokesperson also praised the administration’s road projects, particularly those connecting remote communities and areas that had previously faced security challenges.
He further commended the state government for paying teachers’ salaries and settling outstanding benefits owed to retirees inherited from the previous administration.
