The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has offered reasons why donor agencies decided to return to the state after several years of absence.
The Governor offered the explanation in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, issued on Thursday.
Sir Kula has disclosed that Governor Alia’s stand against corruption and other sharp practices necessitated the return of donor agencies, development partners and INGO.
Kula stated this on Thursday when he featured side by side with the Director General of the Bureau for International Cooperation and Development, Benue State, Aondoaseer Leonard Angelo Viashima, at an interface with members of the Government House Press Crew in a programme put together by the office of the Chief Press Secretary to enable Ministries, Departments and Agencies brief the in-house media team on their achievements in office.
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Responding to a question on what he thinks is responsible for the return of the INGOs, donor agencies and development partners back to the state, Kula emphasised that although many of them had left the state as a result of the insincerity they experienced during previous administrations, but Governor Alia’s personality, sincerity and integrity has given them enough assurance for them to return.
The CPS added that the governor’s posture against sharp practices as the head of government has also sent clear signals to everyone working under him that the right thing must be done at all times, thereby curbing corruption in governance.
On his part, Viashima said as the brainchild of the Governor Alia administration, the BICD was created basically to “facilitate bilateral relations, coordination, knowledge sharing, strategic alignment as well as to foster sustainable development by leveraging on the contributions of non-profit organisations, INGOs and donor partners”.
He said already the aim of creating the Bureau has started yielding fruits as the Benue State Government through the efforts of the Bureau has become the first state in Nigeria to subscribe to the United Nations Volunteers subscription, enabling indigenes to participate in the recruitment at the United Nations to improve Peer to Peer and Business to Business engagements.
He stressed further that with the subscription of the UNV programme, which supports peace and sustainable human development around the globe through the promotion of volunteerism and mobilisation of volunteers, about 45 to 50 Benue State indigenes will be shortlisted for the programme yearly, with a possible work retainership for almost all the candidates at the end of the one-year programme, creating lifetime jobs for them.
Continuing, the DG added that through information sharing, networking and resource mobilisation, the Bureau has also been working hand in hand with the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Youths and Sports, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Health, Works, Housing and Urban Development as well as with agencies such as SEMA and BENSACA to maximise the effectiveness of development interventions in the state.
He said the Bureau, which was created in August 2023, but fully inaugurated in November 2023, has also been able to facilitate major counterpart funding for USAID Global health supply chain as well as for the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Viashima said: “The counter grant to these generated 4,047,750 bed nets worth about N8.8 billion and N1.4 billion to which the state paid 40 percent counterpart fund for the operational cost only.
“About 14,000 Benue State personnel participated in the campaign, which took place between October to December 2023.
“A second round is coming up in 2024.”
The BICD Director General disclosed further that the BICD has equally facilitated engagement meetings between Governor Alia and 57 members of International Non-Governmental Organisations forum as well as with members of the humanitarian country team, during which some of the organisations have already entered into partnership with the Benue State Government for sustainable development.
According to him, the Bureau has also facilitated and processed the signing of MoUs with organisations such as Heifer International, Plan International and Save the Children International, revealing that from November 2023 to date, the Bureau has signed and brought in seven INGOs to come and partner with the government in different areas.
Apart from equally facilitating Capacity Building Programmes in the state, the DG also said they have secured the enlistment of Benue State in the solutions for displaced persons project, which is targeted at returning the IDPs to their ancestral homes, adding that discussions to that effect have already reached 40 percent.
Viashima equally highlighted the expansion of intervention sites to actively include Ukum, Logo Apa and Kwande areas, which were not initially captured for humanitarian interventions, as one of the achievements of the Bureau.
According to him, since Benue State has now been declared a humanitarian state, the status now allows for humanitarian interventions to come in just like the humanitarian crises states like Borno.
He said: “This means that Benue State is allowed now to share a durable solution plan being a benefactor of the multi million USD UN support as the BAY states.
“This further means that beyond the regular UN interventions in the state, we have the return of UNFPA to Benue, four additional sectors from IOM and other UN sectors who had left the state returning to drive support to our humanitarian needs.”
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