Ex-JRI Executive Director defends Alia’s reform agenda, resigns to contest Buruku Assembly seat on APC platform
By Our Reporter In Makurdi
Former Executive Director of the Justice and Rights Initiative (JRI), Barrister Justin Gbagir, has declared that the deep-rooted underdevelopment of Benue State cannot be reversed by any governor within a single four-year term, insisting that meaningful progress requires patience, continuity, and sustained people-centred governance.
Gbagir made the assertion on Monday in Makurdi while briefing journalists on his resignation as Executive Director of JRI, a move he said was necessary to enable him contest for the Benue State House of Assembly seat representing Buruku State Constituency.
According to him, expectations that long-standing structural and developmental challenges could be resolved within one political cycle were unrealistic, stressing that transformation was a gradual process that depended on deliberate policies and institutional support.
He cited the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia as an example of a reform agenda that had been widely misunderstood and unfairly resisted, attributing the challenges faced by the government to internal party opposition and intense political rivalry, which he said had created distractions from governance.
Gbagir noted that despite the challenges, the state had recorded notable progress in the last two and a half years, particularly in salary regularisation and renewed infrastructure efforts, describing them as early signs of recovery.
He recalled that between 1999 and 2023, Benue State experienced persistent underdevelopment despite substantial inflows from the Federation Account and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“On assumption of office in May 2023, the governor met a state where civil servants were owed salary arrears, salaries were not paid as and when due, while retirees were owed pensions and gratuities,” he said.
He added that Makurdi, the state capital, had assumed the appearance of “a glorified community headquarters,” before recent efforts at renewal.
Gbagir argued that the development strides recorded under Governor Alia’s administration within a short period were significant, calling for continuity to enable the governor consolidate on what he described as works of “emancipation and liberation.”
Explaining his decision to vie for elective office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbagir said his ambition was driven by the need to strengthen legislative support for policies that directly improve the lives of citizens.
He described the legislature as the symbol of democracy and the engine room of accountability, lawmaking, and public debate, warning that without a purposeful assembly, executive reforms could be slowed or derailed.
Effective governance, he added, thrived when the executive and legislature worked collaboratively, noting that legislative backing reduced gridlock, promoted political stability, and restored public confidence in government.
Gbagir disclosed that he had stepped aside as Executive Director of JRI, the human rights organisation he founded in 2010, to fully commit himself to electoral politics and legislative service.
He further revealed that he had formally registered as a member of the APC in Mbaade Ward, Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State, appealing to his constituents to support his aspiration.
