Governor of Benue State Fr. Hyacinth Alia has declared that Benue State is open to business, noting that the security challenge in the state has been addressed.
The governor stated this while reacting to the award by the Governor the Year award accorded to him by LEADERSHIP group.
The governor, who described the award as a great feat and an indication that the world is watching activities in the state, said it means so much to him and a lot more to the people of Benue State.
He said, “We need the world to come to Benue. We are an agrarian zone. We are farmers and we need farming investors to come in. Benue is open for business and those who would like to come in and gain some more with their own investment are welcome. They can just keep coming in.”
The governor said the policies his administration has instituted has led to a peaceful atmosphere in the state, adding that the masses are in first line of security.
He said “The invaders, those who are maiming us, doing banditry, those who are attacking and killing us, had to understand that there is a new dawn in the land. And then we had to do a lot of dialogue and we will continue to do a lot of dialogue. I represent peace and I preach and work for peace to exist.”
He noted that insecurity thrived in the state in the past because people cashed in on it, adding “People do all kinds of things to get money even on the blood of human beings.”
He added, “In my head it is very clear, the people gave me the mandate to serve them, I accepted to do that from the depth of my heart in all humility and humaneness.
“First of all, if we do not have a secured environment, we cannot thrive economically and commercially, developmentally and infrastructurally. So we had to go back to the primary basis of how do we keep the peace that we enjoyed before now? How do we identify those who are cashing in on people’s blood? How do we take out the misinformation and disinformation and all that? So when we recalibrated all these, we will know the work that we have to do.
“Benue State is a very hospitable place but if you come into the life of Benue, it has to be on the basis of creating some value addition. If you are an investor bring whatever product that you have but leave chaos and insecurity behind because you are coming on the base of peace.
“Again, we have been doing a lot of education, we need to let our people understand that while they are in the first line of creating peace, they are need to understand that they are the architects who will be the first beneficiaries of the peace that will emanate from the re-education that we have been doing.
And that is why relatively the state has been enjoying a lot of peace.”
He added that the state gave a fourteen-day moratorium to the invaders to see how best they will respond.
Alia said “We have no open grazing law in Benue State. If you have prepared for that, your investment will be accepted but anything outside of that is not acceptable. You know, the state has its own stakes and the law of the land has to be implemented.
“So I’m pleased to know that there was a lot of influx in the land but so far they have been going back in droves just as they came. But that does not mean that people are not welcome in Benue State. If you are legitimately coming with something to offer why not. You’re very welcome,” he said.
