Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has disclosed that the state is raising a N93 billion bond to establish a Digital Infrastructure Company (BDIC) to help tackle insecurity, foster economic growth, and enhance the quality of life for the citizens.
Governor Alia, represented by his deputy Sam Ode, disclosed this during the Digital Security Town Hall meeting in Makurdi. He said the state targets revenue generation of at least N158 billion yearly for the next ten years (equivalent to N1.58 trillion in 10 years).
When fully achieved, he said the BDIC project will represent a substantial investment in the state’s digital future, focusing on providing high-speed internet access, enhancing digital literacy, and driving technological innovation throughout the state.
The governor said, “My administration is working to bridge the digital divide in Benue State and improve security and the state’s economy.”
He explained, “Since I assumed office, I have met serious security problems and have been working to resolve them.
“Since assuming office, we have had a terrible security situation. There are killings everywhere, and property worth billions are also being destroyed.
“To solve the problem, we redesigned the state’s security architecture. We went for the best hands to coordinate security of the state, established the Bureau for Home Land Security and visited all heads of security agencies to make them understand what is happening in the state.”
“This move by the governor has assisted a lot in bringing down the insecurity in the state to a minimal level, and we are willing to do more.
Earlier, the special adviser to the governor on security and internal affairs, Joseph Har, said insecurity has grown in the state and that all hands are needed on deck, employing all relevant digital technology available to tackle it.
“Insecurity, as you know, has grown and become a menace in the state and even globally and needs to be tackled headlong.”
“Unfortunately, there is a divide between the civilian populace and law enforcement agents. There are not enough synergies among the law enforcement agencies; elsewhere, there is in-fighting.
“In Benue, we have taken the initiative to bring law enforcement together for more synergy and information sharing. We want to get all the law enforcement agencies to be in one group and the general population into another group so that they can join together to fight a common enemy, which is insecurity.
“Things can be done better using technology, so we have decided to sit down in a town hall meeting to brainstorm how to use digital technologies to tackle insecurity in Benue.
“In other places, for instance, Okada has been banned, but here, the iron condemn or scrap buyers are a menace. They are everywhere in the villages, most of whom are responsible for the crimes committed in such places.
“We will profile all the people doing business in the state and give them security passes, identification tags with numbers or QR codes for easy identification.
“This will also prevent security from indiscriminately arresting those doing genuine business in the state for crimes they do not commit.”
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