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Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, on Monday, December 22, 2025, presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill totaling ₦605,506,764,066.16 to the Benue State House of Assembly in Makurdi for consideration and approval.
Tagged “Budget of Rural Development, Livelihood Support and Sustained Growth,” the proposal reflects the administration’s commitment to repositioning the state’s economy and improving the living standards of its citizens. Governor Alia described it as a practical roadmap for inclusive growth, emphasizing that economic progress must directly translate into better conditions for ordinary households.
Key priorities include a sustained growth agenda allocating 55.66% of the budget to education, health, long-term infrastructure competitiveness, innovation, and digital transformation. Rural development, encompassing electrification, water supply, environmental protection, agriculture, and agro-industrial initiatives, receives 30.23% of capital expenditure, with a strong focus on rural roads, feeder roads, and bridges to connect farmers to markets, children to schools, and communities to essential services.
The governor highlighted that 30.23% of the capital budget is dedicated to developing rural infrastructure, aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, lowering transport costs, and stimulating local commerce. Livelihood support through social protection programs, MSME growth, and cooperative development accounts for 14.11% of the budget.
Recurrent expenditure stands at ₦281,086,430,485.05, representing 46.4% of the total and a 21.69% increase over the revised 2025 figure to cover minimum wage implementation and overheads. Capital expenditure is pegged at ₦342,420,333,581.10.
Reviewing 2025 performance, Governor Alia noted achievements despite economic and security challenges, including the deployment of 5,000 Benue State Civil Protection Guards to restore peace, near-completion of two underpasses in Makurdi and Gbokko, rehabilitation of over 387 kilometers of roads, and ranking Benue among the top five states nationally in capital expenditure per capita.
He also pointed to progress in workers’ welfare by reducing inherited salary arrears from ten to three months and clearing pension and gratuity backlogs, as well as agricultural interventions like fertilizer blending plants, subsidized inputs, distribution of 150,000 oil palm seedlings under the Benue Alia Palm Project, a fruit juice factory pilot, and the advancing Benue Beer project expected to create over 1,000 direct jobs.
Investments in education, health, digital skills for civil servants and youths, teacher recruitment, school infrastructure, and upgrades to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital were equally emphasized.
The governor reassured citizens of continued fiscal discipline, blockage of leakages, and revenue expansion through automation without imposing new burdens. He expressed optimism that, with legislative support, the 2026 budget will deepen development, expand opportunities, and secure a prosperous future for Benue State.
The House of Assembly is expected to commence deliberations on the bill in the coming days.
