Former President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Idris Omede, who is seeking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket to contest the November 16 Kogi governorship seat, has promised to make civil servants and pensioners in the state smile.
Omede, who stated this on Saturday in Lokoja during the inauguration of local government coordinators for the ‘Omede Idris Believe 2019 Project’, said he has put in place mechanisms to guarantee regular payment of workers salaries and pensions.
He promised to prioritize education, health, agriculture, security and provision of basic necessity of life to the people, if given the mandate to serve the state.
Omede, a former commissioner of health in the state, noted that Kogi being the gateway to many states should take advantage of the steady inflow of people to grow its economy.
“People come into the state every minute. Their presence means everything we grow here will have the needed market. These are major factors that should help us to raise our internal revenue profile.
“Past governments, and even the present one have relied on over-taxing petty traders to raise revenue. This strategy can only impoverish the poor.
“Our plan is to explore all the areas of possible economic development without exploiting anybody.
“Kogi is supposed to be a crops processing zone. When you process, you create jobs and generate enormous revenue through the various chains, but we have not taken full advantage of that.
“We hope to involve the Bank of Agriculture and Dangote Group to achieve these laudable plans. We are already making our contacts,” he said.
Omede said that his aspiration to be governor of the state is driven by the need to close existing development gaps and add value to the foundation laid by the founding fathers of Kogi.
The campaign coordinator for Okene local government, Yusuf Bello, in his remark, described Kogi as a blessed state.
“God almighty had blessed Kogi state, what is left for the state is quality leadership. We have faith in Dr. Idris Omede’s ability to provide this much needed leadership,” he said.
Bello described Dr Omede as a leader that has made his mark in the medical profession, assuring that they will rally round him to pick the ticket of the party and win the general election for PDP.
