Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, has granted full autonomy to the 23 local government areas in the state to open up rural areas for the economy to thrive in the state.
Rev Fr Alia also spoke about his  administration’s commitment to ensuring full local government’s autonomy on Monday, at the Royal Choice Inn, Makurdi, the  state capital.

He was declaring open a two- day workshop organised by the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in conjunction with Timarage Nigeria Limited, for chairmen and members of the local government interim executives in the state.

The workshop with the theme “Responsive Local Government Leadership for Effective Local Government Administration in Benue State,” was put together for Caretaker Chairmen, their Deputies, Director General Services and Administration, DGSAs, as well as supervisors.
Alia further noted that his administration had also, mapped out strategic projects and programmes for implementation and execution in all the local councils, pointing out that when the projects and programmes were completed, the chequered history of the rural areas in the state will be completely reversed.
His words, “I am happy to state that my administration has given its full blessings to the autonomy of our local governments. Funds due to the local governments will be promptly given to them. We are therefore, committed to the growth and development of the system and have outlined adequate plans to open up the rural areas to enable rural economies to thrive.
"Already, I have mapped out strategic projects and programmes which we are due to start execution and implementation in all the local government areas. 

"It is hoped that by the time we complete these projects and programmes, the chequered history of our rural areas will be completely reversed. 

"The economies of our rural areas will witness tremendous growth and this will positively impact on the people.

“You are to remain closer to the people and to also uphold accountability, integrity and transparency in work, these are central areas to my administration. Embrace synergy and team work to enable a collective achievement to our set goals.”

Noting the pivotal role the local government system played in the development process of the nation, the governor appealed to all local government committees to intensify efforts towards increasing their internally generated revenue, so as to boost their capacity to provide for the welfare of their people.
Earlier in his address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dennis Akura, had said the essence of the workshop was to build the knowledge of the chairmen and members of the local government Interim executive committees, equipping them with better understanding of their roles for effective service delivery at the third,-  tier of government and urged the participants to take full advantage of the workshop so that in the end, they would  be able to support the efforts of the governor at the grassroots level.