By Abu Micheal, Lokoja.
One thing you cannot take away from the present administration in Kogi State under the leadership of Captain Idris Wada in the last four years is that it has chose to focus on ensuring stability in developing critical infrastructures across all sectors and equitable across the State.
The administration has amidst serious challenge associated with modern day governance ensured that it has not only sustain its policy of good governance, it is the hallmark of the Capt Wada’s administration since coming into office.
It is equally important to say that it is the development thrust of the administration as outlined in the Blueprint, a document that serves as a road map, put together by a committee of wise men at the inception of Wada’s administration.
It would be recalled that it was the committee’s submission that fairness, equitable distribution of infrastructures and amenities as well as appointments, remains a panacea to peaceful co-existence.
Capt Wada has without mincing words no doubt kept faith to that aspect of the recommendation of being fair, just and equitable in resources and infrastructure allocations as contained in the blueprint report.
Take the Central Senatorial District into cognizance the for example, the area in terms of appointment has the Secretary to the State Government, with each LGA having a commissioner while the number of Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants are evenly and equally spread to Local Government Areas in the District. These appointments are also applicable to Members of Boards and Commissions.
The development of critical infrastructures across the State has been a priority for the Captain Wada’s administration. The governor has always maintained that the availability of infrastructures will serve as bedrock for the state’s sustainable development. furthermore the Governor see’s infrastructure development as a bid to quicken the pace of Socio Economic transformation in all parts of the State as envisaged by his vision.
In all, the administration has undertaken the construction of the Ageva Ogori road. Several other road projects include the Obangede – Okaito – Ogaminana road that had been abandoned due to lack of funds. There is also the 16km Otokiti- Ganaja bye pass road. Still on road construction in the Central, the Wada administration has equally constructed the access road to the College of Nursing and Midwifery Obangede.
Part of the government’s massive investment in the education sector in the Central district includes the renovation work on Abdulazeez Attah memorial College, Okene. Building and completion of an Administrative block at school of Nursing Obangede. Similarly, the administration as part of efforts to improve teaching and learning of ICT, completed and furnished an ICT centre at school of Nursing Obangede. It also built and completed a student hostel also at school of Nursing Obangede.
Several Primary and Secondary schools have been built and rehabilitated across the Central district.
In the water sub sector, The central senatorial district has a fair share in allocation and in the distribution of these bore holes.
From data obtained from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Central Senatorial District has a total of thirteen (13) water schemes. The Eastern Senatorial District has ten (10)while the West Senatorial District has seven(7) of such water projects.
In order to ensure equitable spread of the water schemes, not only did the Governor put senatorial districts into considerations, he saw to it that the various key constituent communities in those senatorial districts benefited. For instance, in the central senatorial district, the Ogori community was recognized as different from the Magongo community. Other communities in the central senatorial district like Essomi, Oboroke, Ikuehi, Nagazi, Kuroko, Geregu, Egge, Idoji ,Adavi, Obehira, Obangede also benefited from the water scheme projects.
It is also important to state that the Wada administration worked on the Okene and Ihima water scheme.
The State government’s intervention in the health sector through the provision and upgrading of new and existing healthcare facilities across different tiers of the sector has remained a reference. •Among the General Hospitals under renovation and upgrade to a Zonal Hospital in the state is the General Hospital at Okene. •There is also the renovation of all general hospitals in the district. •Similarly, under construction is the 40 bed cottage hospital at Ikuehi at Ihima.
The MDGs clinic at Obanagede has also been completed.
Until recently when Tao FM, in Kuroko, a privately owned community radio station was bombed, the State government ensured and recorded a measure of unparalleled peace and security in the central senatorial district.
In the information sector, the Otite station of Radio Kogi is now back on air having be turned into a full FM station.
Since inception, the administration has serviced other sectors with little above N400 after the payment of a monthly wage bill of N3.2billion.
The efforts to attain the little but unparalleled achievements of this administration amidst dwindling financial resources across the district of the State to many who have followed the trend in governance of the state in the last four years have had to hinged the modest success to determination, focus and courage driven by the administration’s mission to transform the State by Captain Idris Wada amidst available resources.
The scarce but greater chunk of the state’s resources has to a large extent been judiciously used across the state in building key infrastructures.
The modest success story in the central nay other districts of Kogi State is therefore a painstaking effort made by ensuring equity and fairness and the deployment of available resources in the building of critical infrastructure by the Wada led administration.
In the area of employment, the people of central district along side other districts have benefited from the employment the State government made in the State Civil Service, while citizens of the district are among the over 120,000 that have also received free treatment, surgery and laboratory examination under the state government organised quarterly free health programme.
Similarly, youths of the districts are among the over 10,000 engaged under the youth advancement programme of the State government.
