The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State, Sir Tersoo Kula, has said the progress of the state under Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration should be judged by visible development projects and improved service delivery, not by media statements alone.
Kula made this assertion in a press release issued Tuesday, January 27, 2026, titled “Benue Media Tour: Beyond the Lamentations of Naysayers (II)”, following a recently concluded media tour of senior media executives across the state.
According to the press release, the tour “was neither choreographed nor designed as an alternative for data-driven governance,” but rather aimed to showcase the administration’s “openness and transparency,” giving independent media professionals the opportunity to see projects and interventions firsthand.
Kula stressed that the impressions expressed by the visiting journalists were their own, noting that “firsthand observation remains a legitimate and long-established journalistic tool, complementing, but not substituting empirical data.”
Responding to criticism from the opposition, the press release described the Benue State People’s Democratic Party’s position as “the saddest commentary ever,” adding that the Alia administration has “consistently made information on projects, budgets, and sectoral interventions available through official channels, including budget documents, procurement processes, and public briefings.”
Highlighting areas of intervention, the statement said, “Infrastructure projects, healthcare upgrades which have, educational interventions, and agricultural support programmes are visible across the state and open to verification by citizens, civil society groups, and the media alike.”
The statement listed several projects attributed to the administration, including improved street lighting in Makurdi under “operation lit up Makurdi,” the rejuvenation of primary schools with upgraded infrastructure and “injection of over 9000 man power,” and upgrades at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, which it said “has…turned into a medical tourist centre.”
It further cited the renovation of over a hundred primary healthcare centres, the establishment of a brewery and fruit juice company, and the construction of inner-city roads in Makurdi. “Governor Alia flagged off the first phase of construction of 16 inner city roads in Makurdi and has completed them…The second phase was 25 roads and he has also completed all of them. These are verifiable and were witnessed by the visiting media team,” the release stated.
On ecological interventions, Kula said flooding was mitigated in parts of Makurdi. “It is not a miracle that the people of Idye in Makurdi for the first time were not displaced by flooding in 2025. The massive intervention of ecological management by the Governor made it possible,” he noted, adding that similar outcomes were recorded at Wurukum market.
The statement maintained that development must be demonstrable, stressing: “Development, indeed, must be demonstrated, and that demonstration as far as Alia’s administration is concerned, is ongoing, physical, and accessible.”
It also defended the government’s engagement with the media, saying, “Development communication is not diminished by interaction; rather, it is strengthened when facts are tested through public exposure.”
Kula said the administration remains committed to “accountability, fiscal responsibility, and continuous improvement,” while welcoming “constructive criticisms and a data-driven discourse.”
Concluding, the press release declared: “Let it be on record that, progress and development in Benue State is not proclaimed by press statements alone; it is reflected in ongoing innovations and projects, improved service delivery, and the daily experiences of the masses.”
The statement added that the government has embraced scrutiny and public accountability and remains “ever ready to be taken on, at any time.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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