BENUE 2035: BUILD PROSPERITY, ALIA TELLS INVESTORS

as Participants hail summit, pledge support for economic transformation

By ANYAM DOOSE SANDRA

Participants at the ongoing Benue 2035 Economic Transformation, Capital Formation and Prosperity Summit have praised the Benue State Government and the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC) for organising the event, describing it as timely and important to the future of the state.

The participants, who spoke in exclusive interviews with _Ziti News said the summit had provided an opportunity for stakeholders to learn new ideas, attract investment and develop practical strategies for building a stronger Benue economy.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue State Council, Comrade Bemdoo Ugber, said the state was making progress in attracting investments from both national and international communities.

Ugber commended Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia for what he described as his efforts to move the state forward.

He, however, urged farmers and other players in the agricultural sector to work harder, stressing that agriculture remained central to achieving sustainable prosperity in Benue.

Also speaking, Mrs. Calista A. Michael, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education, Trade and Investment, said the state was gradually recording growth through investments and collaborations with businesses and other partners.

She said continued partnerships and investment would help strengthen the state’s economic base.

For Dr. Smart Okpi, founder of Front Staff AI and a facilitator at the summit, Benue must take the digital economy seriously as the world continues to move rapidly toward technology-driven development.

He advised young people, both men and women, to learn digital skills, improve their knowledge and use technology to create value and contribute to the transformation of the state.

A member of the creative industry in Benue, Dooshima Anita Udouje, also stressed the need to address security challenges in the state to create a safer environment for investors.

She said Benue people were warm and welcoming, adding that outsiders interested in doing business in the state could find opportunities for meaningful collaboration.

The participants pledged to take lessons from the summit and apply them in their various sectors, saying the success of the Benue 2035 vision would depend on collective action by government, businesses, farmers, young people and other stakeholders.

The summit’s central message was clear: prosperity will not come by chance. It must be deliberately built through better thinking, investment, capital formation and practical action.

As one of the key messages from the event puts it, “Prosperity is not a gift; it is built. Until we transform our thinking and deliberately form capital, prosperity will remain a slogan.”