…Rates his administration high
Kogi Central Senator-elect, Dr. Yakubu Oseni has implored critics of the New Direction administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to channel their energy towards more useful venture rather than making fruitless attempt to distract the Governor who is focused on governance.
In a recent interview with pressmen in Abuja, the former Executive Chairman of Kogi State Internal Revenue Service(KGIRS) pointed out that contrary to unfounded accusations against the Governor by online paid agents, a visit to Kogi State would convince any discerning mind that the present administration has outperformed better than its predecessors in the areas of infrastructure, security and agricultural development.
“The young Governor is doing his best to change the past narratives of the state within the limited resources at his disposal. For instance, the state capital, Lokoja was in total mess in terms of sanitation. In fact, the administration was ushered in amidst wanton dirt just as bandits held the state to jugular because kidnapping became money-spinning venture. All these have become tales of the past. I think he deserves our recommendations for this feat,” he passionately averred.
Queried on the popularity of the Governor and general assessment of the New Direction administration in the state, Dr. Oseni who scored Governor Bello high said the latter is a grassroot politician who has toured the length and breadth of the state in the build up to 2015 primary election which eventually through divine intervention, made him the Governor of the State.
Governor Yahaya Bello, according to the Senator-elect, has become a household name in the state, a feat which was validated by the harvest of victories recorded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded general elections.
No government is a perfect one, he continued, but the Governor with his cabinet members have been trying to correct the age-long anomalies which were deeply entrenched in the system through series of reforms, noting that those that were benefitting from the old order of milking the state would definitely not be happy.
On issues surrounding salary payment, the former revenue boss revealed that the government has tried with paucity of resources to prudently utilise it, bearing in mind that what is coming from the federal to the state is not enough as other projects are carried out within that limited resources.
“Some of those who complain on salaries are victims of the staff screening done to sanitise the workforce. Among these people are those found with forged certificates and other civil service infractions. They are those complaining, but will never tell the public the crime they have committed,” he said.
While appealing to the Federal Government to release the remaining tranche of the bailout funds, Dr. Oseni noted that the previous government of Captain Idris Wada applied for 50.8b naira to offset salary arrears but so far, about 20b naira has been released to the present administration which is not even enough to offset the huge amount of debt inherited from the previous administration.
