Alia Hyacinth Iormem

Hyacinth Iormem Alia (born 15 May 1966) is a Nigerian Catholic cleric and politician who has served as Governor of Benue State since 29 May 2023. He was ordained a Catholic priest on 7 July 1990 by Bishop Athanasius Atule Usuh of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese. The profile lists his birthplace as Benue State and also specifies Mbangur, Mbadede, Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.

After assuming office, Alia prioritized civil service reforms, including regular payment of salaries and pensions, while his Strategic Development Plan focused on infrastructural renewal in Makurdi and rural electrification in several local government areas. In 2024, he launched the Benue State Youth Empowerment Scheme to reduce unemployment through agricultural subsidies, and his administration addressed internal security and farmer-herder tensions through community policing initiatives and dialogue. His urban renewal program started with 16 township roads in Makurdi and by 2025 had expanded to more than 50 projects statewide, including flyovers and underpasses at the High-Level roundabout in Makurdi and Gyado Junction in Gboko. He attended St. Francis Primary School, Agidi, Mbatiav (Gboko LGA), St. James Minor Seminary in Makurdi (from 1983), and St. Augustine's Major Seminary, Jos; he earned a diploma in Religious Studies (1987), a BA in Sacred Theology (1990), a master's in Religious Education (Psychology and Counseling) from Fordham University (1999), and both a master's (2004) and doctorate (2005) in Biomedical Ethics from Duquesne University, with a profile note that his dissertation is not in library holdings.