From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Benue State governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Engr. Peter Terwase Tortiv-Ato has decried what he termed as deficit of competent leadership in the State.
Ato who made this claim while speaking with newsmen in his Makurdi residence on Tuesday, said
the state deserves far greater progress than it currently receives.
He explained that his decision to contest the governorship election is borne out of the urgent need to reposition Benue for sustainable growth.
“Benue is entitled to more than it currently gets. I am offering myself for service,” the PDP aspirant said.
He pledged to run an outcome-based administration built on transparency, accountability and measurable targets, stressing that governance under his leadership would be open and subject to public scrutiny.
“We will set a baseline with the people on day one and return quarterly for them to measure our progress. It will not be a closed government run like a secret cult,” Ato stated.
Addressing the challenge of revenue generation in the predominantly agrarian state, the governorship hopeful noted that insecurity remains the biggest obstacle preventing farmers from maximizing agricultural productivity.
According to him, restoring security in rural communities will be the first step toward unlocking Benue’s vast agricultural potential.
“We are not utilizing our full agricultural capacity because of insecurity. The first step is to solve that,” he said.
Ato further unveiled plans to establish value-addition centres across the state to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers’ earnings, explaining that the initiative would begin with one processing centre in each of the state’s three senatorial zones before expanding to local governments and ward clusters.
“We must stop losing perishable crops to waste. By processing and packaging locally, we increase value and revenue,” he said, citing cassava and oranges as examples of produce that could generate more income if properly processed.
