The management of The Sun Newspapers has nominated Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, for its 2026 Governor of the Year award.
The nomination was conveyed to the governor on Friday when the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Sun, Onuoha Ukeh, presented the letter at the Benue State Government House in Makurdi.
Speaking after receiving the nomination, Alia expressed delight at the recognition, saying it showed that his administration’s achievements had attracted attention beyond Benue State.
The governor said he had deliberately refrained from using sirens on his convoy since assuming office, insisting that his administration’s achievements should speak for him.
“I am happy to know that my ‘siren’ has blasted beyond Benue State, fetching me such very prestigious recognition by one of the country’s credible media outfits,” he said.
Alia explained that he considered the projects and interventions being implemented by his administration as his “siren.”
“Let interventions in creating jobs be my siren; let the roads I am building serve as my siren; let the companies I am building be my siren and other achievements I have recorded within this time,” the governor said.
Presenting the nomination letter, Ukeh said the governor was selected on merit, citing what he described as programmes and projects accelerating development across the state.
He listed the transformation of Makurdi, interventions in the health sector and improvements at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital among the reasons for the nomination.
Ukeh also commended the administration’s attention to Primary Healthcare Centres across the state.
He described the establishment of Food Basket Breweries and Bensono Fruit Juice Factory as legacy projects that would outlive the governor’s tenure.
“Only someone with a clear vision on how he wants to leave a state after his tenure will indulge in very useful ventures such as the revival of ailing industries like Taraku Mills etc, and Fr. Alia has done this,” Ukeh said.
The Sun editor-in-chief said the newspaper had monitored developments in Benue and was convinced that Alia’s administration had made significant progress, particularly in road infrastructure and the welfare of workers and senior citizens.
“Our choice of you is justifiable. We have tracked development in your state, and we know what you are doing, especially with road infrastructure and the welfare of the state’s workforce and care for the senior citizens who were hitherto neglected and allowed to degenerate to destitute,” he said.
The award ceremony is scheduled to hold on November 13, 2026, at the Expo Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.