Civic advocate Agena Ande demands Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia disclose how over ₦400 billion in state revenue was spent, citing poor roads, insecurity, and unresolved IDP crisis.
Makurdi — August 4, 2026
A prominent governance advocate has put Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia on notice, demanding a full public breakdown of more than ₦400 billion the administration is said to have received over its first two years in office, arguing the funds have yielded little visible development.
Civic campaigner Agena Ande made the demand in an open letter dated Sunday and addressed directly to the governor. The letter, titled "Mr Governor, Where Is The Benue Money? Two Years, ₦400 Billion, And Nothing To Show," lays out a detailed tally of the state's inflows since the administration took office in May 2023.
Per Ande's estimate, Benue drew over ₦300 billion from federal statutory allocations through FAAC across the two-year period. He added that the state also collected monthly security votes, upward of ₦30 billion in fuel subsidy-related palliatives, various donor and intervention grants, and internally generated revenue from local taxation, pushing the combined total past ₦400 billion.
The activist argued that a state receiving such substantial resources should have measurable results to show, but said Benue has struggled to point to even 100 kilometres of newly built roads. He singled out the Makurdi–Naka and Gboko–Katsina-Ala corridors as examples of major routes he described as largely unusable, warning that crumbling rural roads are also cutting off farmers from markets for their produce.
Ande also raised alarm over the state's security record, pointing to continuing attacks in Guma, Logo, Kwande, Apa, and Agatu local government areas despite what he characterized as significant security-related spending. He claimed roughly two million people remain displaced across camps in the state without a coordinated resettlement plan, while civil servants, including teachers, health workers, and pensioners, are still owed unpaid entitlements.
He accused the administration of leaning more heavily on public messaging than on delivering physical projects, writing in the letter that "Benue is bleeding" and that the numbers speak for themselves.
Ande's letter calls on the Alia administration to:
- Publish a comprehensive, itemized account of every naira received since May 2023
- Provide a transparent expenditure breakdown against that revenue
- Prioritize and complete stalled infrastructure projects
- Reinforce community-level security responses in high-risk LGAs
- Resettle internally displaced persons still living in camps
- Clear all outstanding salary and pension arrears
The governor's office had not issued a public response to the letter at the time of this report.
The intervention adds to a growing pattern of civic actors in Nigeria's states pressing sub-national governments for greater fiscal transparency, particularly as federal allocations to states have risen in recent budget cycles.
More on Benue