Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia
By TYAV SAM TYAV, Makurdi –
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia has presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill of N550,112,988,930.45 to the Benue State House of Assembly for consideration.
Presenting the budget estimate on the floor of the State House of Assembly on Wednesday, Governor Alia explained, that the 2025 budget represents a 47.5% increment over the 2024 revised and approved budget.
Speaking further, the governor informed that “the 2025 Budget, christened ‘Budget of Human Capital Development, Food Security, and Digital Economy’, is designed to ensure continued progress, prosperity, and well-being for all our citizens.”
According to the governor, the estimate shows that the sum of N175,412,018,284.04 is the total recurrent expenditure, representing 13.55% increment over total recurrent estimate for the 2024 revised budgets
The governor noted that the budget Capital Expenditure is to gulp N374,700,970,646.41, which represents 71.5% increase over the 2024 Revised Budget, with the expectation that the attendant needs of capital expenditure would be addressed in the 2025 Budget.
The budget also indicates that Human Capital Development, which encompasses education and health, and is critical in the government development agenda has a combined budget allocation of 30 per cent of the total budget.
The governor also revealed that 15.28% of the total budget was allocated to livestock and agricultural production as a deliberate measure to ensure food security to enable the State live up to its reputation as the food basket of the nation.
Alia assured that “we will build a state where every citizen has the opportunity to succeed, where food is plentiful, and where the digital economy opens new frontiers of opportunity for all.”
The governor, who appealed to the lawmakers to give necessary support for the passage of the budget, also insisted that the estimates were not just a financial document and emphasized that it was “a blueprint for the future of our state, a future that is brighter, more inclusive, and more prosperous for all.”
