Benue Guber Aspirant Unveils 5-Point Agenda Before Benue Professionals In Abuja.

A former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly and governorship hopeful, Terhemem Tarzoor, recently unveiled his five-point agenda for the state at a town hall meeting.
Terhemem Tarzoor, a Tiv-born prince, was interacting with the Guild of Benue State professionals at a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, when he raised the need for issue-based campaign, devoid of age or class.
At 42, the former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly is one of the aspirants to commence a statewide consultation in support of his ambition. He is believed to command acceptance among the electorate.
An economist, Tarzoor has identified five-point cardinal sectoral developmental strategy that would help address the challenges of the state. They include Agriculture, Health, Education, Tourism and Pension Reforms.

He expressed optimism that rapid development in the above mentioned sectors would automatically drive the socio-economic progression of the state.
“If growth is achieved in these five sectors, it will definitely reflect on other sectors. We want to say things that you can hold us responsible for any anytime.”
As against playing the age card, Tarzoor believed that Benue state at the moment requires visionary leadership that could key into the modernity of present day Nigeria.

“We are in the modern world, we need people who are on the fast lane to key into the modernity of Nigeria and the modernity of today’s economic setting to modernise Benue. Our dear state needs people who understand the PPP arrangement to drive the economy without expending all the resources of the state on it.”
To this end, Tarzoor solicited the support of the Guild of Benue professionals in Abuja and enjoined it to play active role in the emergence of credible leadership for the state.

Tarzoor canvassed massive industrialisation of the state’s agricultural sector and at the same time, suggested that government should provide ready market for agricultural produce to encourage farmers in subsequent farming seasons.
“This is where we are naturally endowed. We must establish cash cows in this regards, we must industralise agriculture; this is different from mechanisation. We shall ensure that we have a pounded yam flower processing plant through the Public Private Partnership Arrangement (PPP) and at the end of the day, becomes the states property that will engage our youths, provide jobs and income. We already have the raw materials; we just need to add value by converting it to finished goods.”
He said his administration, if elected would devote a large expanse of land to palm plantation and processing where the state would produce palm oil in large quantity within the first two or three years of his administration.
Discussing the health sector, Tarzoor, who chronicles the faith-based hospitals in the state, concluded that these hospitals were more in number than government owned hospitals, suggesting a synergy to strengthen and equip the health centres in communities where it already exists.

“I have taken statistics of faith-based hospitals in the state, and realised that these hospitals have the largest spread, even than the government-owned hospitals. We have set a dream to synergise with the faith-based hospitals. If they do not have a dialysis machine and sufficient buildings or laboratory, the government should provide for them, since they did not restrict their services to people who share their faith; it is for everybody.
On education, Tarzoor said his to-be-administration would comply with the standard set by the federal government for both primary and secondary education via regulatory bodies like Universal Basic Primary Education Commission (UBEC) and the post-primary education department in the Federal Ministry of Education.
“The primary education sector is highly regulated at the national level by UBEC, the secondary education is also regulated by the ministry of education, the roles are already set out at the national level, and all we need is just to comply with it, given our own strength.”

He said massive capital projects would be executed in all the tertiary institution across the state and that the human capital aspect of tertiary education is being regulated by the unions, which is a national issue. He, however, proposed a monthly students’ sustenance allowance for indigenes in all tertiary institutions across the federation.
In the area of tourism, he envisioned that the River banks, water bodies and mountainous regions in the state would be channeled to recreation resorts for tourist attractions and vowed to reclaim the river Benue for same purpose.
He claimed efforts are ongoing to establish Benue State Football Academy, to build young stars for national and international football career.
Tarzoor said the need to regulate the pension system for retired civil servants in the state is currently ongoing as he was working on a comprehensive document which he promised would be ready soon.
Asked about his plan to improve power supply to the state, the governorship hopeful said generating additional power was a very difficult but doable task. He said government under his leadership would face the enormous challenge with its best strategy possible.
On security, he hinted of his strategy to tackle the incessant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the state, saying security measure was meant to be classified even when it has been successfully implemented.