Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The release of the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Momentum Index (pSPI) has once again exposed the widening gap between the Benue State Government’s carefully crafted propaganda and the lived reality of the people.
According to the report which was made available to journalists this morning by a pressure group known as ALLIANCE FOR TRUTH AND DEMOCRACY(ATD), Benue under Governor Hyacinth Alia recorded a negative Momentum Score of -0.49, placing the state among Nigeria’s poorest-performing states in terms of development momentum.
The statement reads: “This is not merely disappointing. It is a national embarrassment. While states such as Enugu, Jigawa, Abia, Osun and Kano are being celebrated for making measurable progress in governance and development, Benue, once regarded as one of Nigeria’s most promising agricultural states has been listed among states moving backwards.
“The irony is painful. Governor Hyacinth Alia cannot plead lack of funds. Since assuming office in May 2023, he has governed during the most financially rewarding period in the history of Benue State”
The report further added that by the government’s own records and publicly available fiscal information, Benue has received well over ₦1. 3 trillion from FAAC allocations, internally generated revenue, grants and other interventions, stressing that the administration also secured a ₦100 billion domestic loan last year, in addition to various intervention funds received from development partners and the Federal Government.
With resources of this magnitude, the report states that Benue ought to be setting the pace for development, not struggling to explain why it has recorded negative development momentum.
“The unavoidable question therefore is:
Where has all the money gone? How does a government receive unprecedented revenues yet fail to produce development outcomes comparable to states with significantly fewer resources?
“How does a government with such enormous financial inflows find itself ranked bottom among states that receive far less from the Federation Account?
“These are not questions that can be silenced with political sentiments or media propaganda.
They demand honest answers” the report stressed.
Recall that this is not the first time independent institutions have raised concerns about Benue’s performance under the present administration.
The latest Phillips Consulting assessment reinforces an increasingly disturbing pattern: huge revenues, loud publicity, but disappointing outcomes.
Governor Alia must immediately give Benue people a comprehensive account of his stewardship by publishing:
• Total FAAC allocations received by the state since May 2023.
• Total internally generated revenue realised.
• All grants, intervention funds and donor support received.
• Details of every loan obtained, including the ₦100 billion facility.
• A project-by-project breakdown of how these funds have been spent.
• Independent evidence showing the measurable impact of these expenditures on education, healthcare, security, infrastructure, agriculture, job creation and economic development.
It is no longer sufficient for government officials to issue glowing self-assessments while independent organizations continue to paint a different picture.
The people are entitled to know why, despite unprecedented financial inflows, insecurity remains widespread, farmers continue to struggle to return safely to their ancestral lands, public infrastructure remains inadequate in many communities, unemployment remains high, and now an independent governance assessment has concluded that Benue recorded negative development momentum.
This administration came to office promising a new Benue.
Three years later, the people are confronted with a troubling paradox: Historic revenues. Historic expectations.
But disappointing independent assessments.
The Phillips Consulting report should mark the end of government propaganda and the beginning of genuine public accountability.