The Benue State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) is set to extend its interventions to other critical areas of Gwer West Local Government Area to facilitate rural transport and reduce costs, in line with the policy thrust of the Governor of Benue State. The State Project Coordinator of RAAMP, Stephen Numbeve, made the declaration when he received a delegation of political leaders and traditional rulers at the RAAMP office complex in Makurdi.
Numbeve acknowledged the critical roles played by political leaders and traditional institutions in the development of rural areas. He appreciated the visitors for their engagement and pledged a sustained harmonious working relationship with the delegation to improve lives in the hinterlands of the local government. He explained that RAAMP has the mandate to open roads, construct culverts and bridges, and build market shops and warehouses to complement storage facilities at rural markets across the state. The visit, he noted, was timely for considering additional interventions in some of the most critical areas of Gwer West to ease the movement of farm produce from farmlands to markets, thereby encouraging international trade and export orientation.
Numbeve eulogised the bold steps taken by the Executive Chairman of Gwer West Local Government, Victor Ormiin, and the traditional council in their sustained drive to lobby for projects that would cushion the lives of their people. He promised to complement their efforts in providing critical infrastructure that would alleviate hardship.
In his remarks, Victor Ormiin expressed satisfaction with the roles played by Benue RAAMP as an intervening agency in the state. He said the visit was primarily in appreciation of the Governor’s directive to RAAMP to approve the award of a contract for the construction of a 30-metre, three-span reinforced concrete bridge at River Fete along the Adem to Tse Ormiin village road in Gwer West. The chairman added that the traditional rulers had also requested the visit to thank the RAAMP Coordinator for his understanding and prompt approval of the bridge project, which is vital to the socio-economic lives of the people.
Ormiin decried the infrastructural deficit in the local government and appealed for further interventions to ease the hardship of residents. He thanked the Governor for the renewed security architecture that has enabled the return of many people from Internally Displaced Persons camps, as well as the directive to consider the reconstruction of the Makurdi–Naka road for improved ease of movement. Such gestures, he said, had enhanced the Governor’s high-profile acceptability for re-election in 2027.
Also speaking, the Mue Ter Raav, HRH Peter Ormiin, appreciated the RAAMP Coordinator for the show of love to his subjects and for consistently considering their needs. He prayed for God’s guidance on the Coordinator in all his undertakings so that he remains useful to the entire state.
The delegation comprised political stakeholders and traditional rulers, including the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Col. Alexander Anshungu (Rtd); the Mue Ter Raav, HRH Peter Ormiin; the District Head of Nyamshi, Tyoor Mzahan David; the District Head of Merkyegh, Tyoor Stephen Igba; the Kindred Head of Mbashir, Zaki Nicholas Ioryoosu; the Kindred Head of Mbanyaga, Zaki Averwua Ahula; the Kindred Head of Mbaangyi, Zaki Emmanuel Anyagh; and the Kindred Head of Ujam, Zaki Orshio Akpyo, among others.
