The Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Comrade Joel Salifu, has assured residents of Itobe District in Ofu Local Government Area that the administration of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo remains committed to addressing the area’s development needs.
Comrade Salifu gave the assurance on Monday while receiving a delegation from Itobe District at his official residence in Lokoja. The delegation was led by a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barrister Ndamodu Alih, and included traditional rulers, political leaders and other stakeholders from the district.
Speaking to the gathering, the Deputy Governor said he was pleased by the visit, noting that politics would never separate him from his people. He acknowledged the poor state of roads in Itobe and the need for improved healthcare facilities, and asked residents to submit a formal request for the upgrade of their primary healthcare centres to general hospitals.
He promised to facilitate a direct meeting between the people of Itobe and Governor Ododo so they could present their requests to him personally. Comrade Salifu added that with a growing number of companies establishing a presence in Itobe, development in the district was inevitable, and pledged that government would continue to pay attention to residents’ concerns.
On politics, the Deputy Governor urged the people to remain loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and to support the Ododo administration, stressing that loyalty and commitment would attract more development projects and appointments to the area. He also called on Kogites to set aside ethnic sentiments and embrace unity, saying no tribe in the state was more important than another and that Governor Ododo belonged to all Kogites and deserved every citizen’s support.
Comrade Salifu asked the people to pray for his success in office, saying he harboured no ambition beyond serving his principal and the state. He disclosed that he had already directed engineers to begin drilling boreholes in Kunube community following complaints of water scarcity, and said about fourteen communities around Ikagbo, Ojiofa and neighbouring areas would benefit from ongoing solar electricity projects, with similar projects already under way in Agojeju and its environs.
Earlier, the member representing Ofu State Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Amodu Seidu, said the Itobe delegation had come to congratulate the Deputy Governor and appreciate his support for development in the district, and assured him of the district’s backing for the APC in next year’s elections.
Speaking on behalf of the district, Mallam Suleman Ndamodu pledged the people’s loyalty to the Deputy Governor and the Ododo administration. He appealed for the upgrade of primary healthcare centres in Itobe to general hospitals and called for the rehabilitation of feeder roads in the area.
Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Itobe, the Onuh Itobe, His Royal Highness Alhaji Salifu Adaji, lamented the absence of a general hospital in the district despite its strategic location and growing population, and appealed to government to upgrade existing health facilities to better cater for accident victims and other patients.
In his remarks, Barrister Ndamodu Alih said the people of Itobe had resolved to work for the district’s progress by supporting the government of Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, and appealed for more appointments from both the state and federal governments.
The Executive Chairman of Ofu Local Government Area, Hon. Mohammed Lawal Musa, and the Director-General of Community Watch and Ancillary Matters, Hon. Muhammed Nasiru Alfa, also urged residents to remain united and support the APC to attract more development to the area.
