God sent me, not because I am the best or the most righteous person in the state, but by His mercies and grace, He has qualified me to accomplish this onerous task for His own greater purpose. For this privileged call to serve, I am humbled and indeed, grateful!
The task given to me is a lofty one but He that called and qualified me for this task has at the same time, equipped me for the doing of it. He has wired me with the capacity and capability to succeed at doing it.
By the grace of God, we shall be addressing the following core areas of challenges among others, towards accomplishing this dream of wiping away the tears of the Kogi state people:
1. EDUCATION: We shall restore the lost glory of our educational system and make it even better. In order to achieve this task, we shall provide free education for both indigenes and non-indigenes from Primary to Secondary Schools. We shall also provide adequate teaching and learning materials at no cost for both teachers and pupils/students in all the Government owned primary and secondary schools in Kogi State. As for students in our tertiary institutions, we shall be paying them their entitled bursaries every session and also award scholarship to indigent and excellent students.
Infrastructure wise, we shall rehabilitate dilapidated structures in our various schools/institutions, and also build new ones where necessary.
For the teachers/lecturers, they shall not be neglected again. The popular saying that teachers reward is in heaven will no longer be obtainable in Kogi State. In our administration as a responsible government, teachers shall be rewarded first on earth and thereafter, in heaven!
2. Civil Servants’ Welfare:
We shall reform our civil service and restore all the welfare packages to which Kogi State Civil Servants are entitled to enjoy. Regular payment of salaries/pensions shall be our first priority as a government. Other entitlements such as leave bonuses, allowances, gratuities, death benefits etc shall be paid to all those that are entitled to it without no more delay.
We shall also implement the payment of minimum wage in Kogi State. In fact, we shall compete to be the first state in Nigeria to implement the minimum wage payment as soon as we are inaugurated.
3. Agricultural Revolution:
As a professional Agricultural Engineer who has also worked in the Federal Civil Service (as a Senior Agricultural Extension Officer), Agriculture will be given a pride of place in our government. Under our administration, farmers and dealers in agricultural products will rejoice. We shall give soft loans to farmers and also empower them in many other ways such as providing them with mechanized farming equipments/ machines. Improved seeds/seedling shall be provided for farmers freely.
We shall make sure that the market value of cashew nuts is increased to a reasonable amount. Unlike what we have today. Our government will partner with foreign countries like USA, Brazil, India and China, etc who deal in cashew nuts, to ensure that those who own a cashew or trade on it will have a cause to laugh home with good money from the business.
4. Youths/Women Empowerment:
An idle mind, they say, is the devils workshop. Youth restiveness and the unjust exploitation of the youths in our society today is as a result of joblessness and lack of useful engagements. Thus, we shall effectively and efficiently engage our youths and women by empowering them. We shall create jobs in various sectors and make our youths/women employers of labour. Those with skills shall be assisted financially to set up their own businesses/ventures. Those without skills shall be trained in various areas of skills acquisitions so that they can be subsequently empowered. Under our administration, unemployment rate shall be reduced to an unprecedented percentage in the history of our state. We shall attract foreign investors as well as indigenous companies to our state, and these would in turn, employ a large number of our youths/women. We shall also push for the revival of Ajaokuta Steel Company and when this is achieved, it would create thousands of jobs for the good people of our state. Under our administration, we shall use jobs and wealth creation to chase thuggery and crime away from our state.
5. Rural Development:
We shall provide rural infrastructures across the state. Thus, basic amenities such as access roads for farmers and marketers, electricity, pipe borne water/boreholes etc shall be made available to our rural dwellers in order to make life very comfortable for them. We shall equally build new health care centres/clinics and rehabilitate existing ones in all the rural areas across the state. Rural dwellers shall receive free medical treatments throughout our administration. We shall also partner with network providers to ensure that there is at least, one network provider in all the rural areas of our state.
In addition to the above thematic areas of our manifesto, we shall do many other things in order to ensure that Kogi State is placed on a path of glory and good name. We shall grant tax relief to both foreign and local investors in our state and equally avail them other incentives for a conducive investment or business in our state. Our local investors or businessmen/ women shall be given tax holidays for at least three (3) years before they would be required to pay tax.
We shall allow private schools to compete favourably with our public schools but without compromising the standards.
We shall review the screening exercise(s) done by the previous administrations and all those who unjustly lost their jobs or compulsorily retired, and even those that died in the course or as a result of the exercise shall be restored back into the states civil service or paid reasonable compensation, as the case may be.
We shall not neglect the physically challenged under our administration. The physically challenged are not disabled; they are only physically challenged! Accordingly, we shall do our best to ensure that the full potentials of people who are physically challenged are not only realized but also maximized for their own benefits and that of the whole state at large.
We shall ensure judicial autonomy, local government autonomy, separation of powers and respect for the rule of law. Under our administration, the state government will not have monopoly of powers as it is today, all the arms of government shall be given freedom to run their affairs in accordance with the laws of our land. We shall respect the Nigerian constitution and protect the fundamental rights of our people as guaranteed under the constitution.
In furtherance of our plans to develop the agricultural sector, we shall as a matter of necessity, address the issue of herdsmen/farmers crisis through consultations with the relevant stakeholders and communities in order to bring lasting solution to the problem.
We shall re-activate adult education and make it free for all adults that are interested.
Infrastructurally, we shall complete every abandoned state project and partner with the Federal Government to re-construct Lokoja Ajaokuta Road, and to complete all other abandoned federal projects/roads in the state.
On mineral resources, Kogi State which is blessed with over twenty (20) different mineral resources must begin to enjoy these God-given sources of wealth and abundance. Thus, we shall liase with the Federal Government to ensure that host communities of these mineral resources derive satisfactory benefits thereof. We shall also prevail on mining companies to imbibe the principle of corporate social responsibility by ensuring that they develop host communities of mineral resources in exchange or appreciation for what they are getting from their land.
On our part as a government we shall ensure that our state get maximum tax returns from all persons and corporate entities that engage in exploration and mining of mineral resources in Kogi State. By this, our Internally Generated Revenue (I.G.R.) would be boosted. We shall also ensure that non-indigenous companies in the state comply with the local content laws/regulations and thus, absorb many of our people into their workforce.
We shall empower women under our government. women shall be given strategic positions in our administration, as we shall implement the United Nations 40% Affirmative Action for women and even surpass it for the betterment of our state and the whole country at large.
On security, we shall prioritize safety of lives and properties under our administration. The ugly tales of kidnapping, thuggery, cultism, violent deaths caused by bandits, farmers/herdsmen crises, communal clashes e.t.c. will be a thing of the past. We shall mop up arms and ammunitions which are replete in the state at the moment through strategic security agencies.
We shall open disarmament program by way of amnesty to repentant criminals, thugs and other categories of persons baring arms illegally. We shall ensure that lasting peace between various tribes within the state is restored in order to avoid endless communal crisis. Specially, we shall ensure that peace and tranquility is restored in Bassa L.G.A.
Under our administration, the unfortunate crisis and violence between the Bassa-Komo and Igbira speaking tribes in Bassa Local Government will be a thing of the past. All the families and communities that lost their lives and properties as a result of the crisis will be compensated and empowered. We shall rebuild all government vandalized properties e.g. bridges, in order to bring the people back to their homes to live their normal lives.
Under our administration, we shall restore all the proscribed unions in our tertiary institutions. It is the constitutional rights of all Nigerians to form and to belong to lawful organizations/unions without any let or hindrances. Accordingly, we shall lift the executive ban on union activities in all the state owned tertiary institutions in Kogi State. These unions include; ASUU, NASUU, SANU, ASUP, ASUCE, etc.
Our administration shall be guided by and anchored on:
1. Integrity
2. Honesty
3. Transparency
4. Good Governance and respect for the rule of law
5. Performance
6. Selflessness
7. Accountability
Now is the time to make Kogi State an enviable state. Now is the time to make Kogi State a tourism hub in Nigeria. Now is the time to make Kogi State a better place. Now is the time to build a peaceful and a prosperous state for ourselves and for our children. All these are possible. Yes, it is possible to get Kogi State working at its peak. It is possible to reduce poverty and unemployment rates in our state.
It is possible to pay Kogi workers their salaries every month as at when due. It is possible to pay Kogi State retirees their pensions and gratuities as at when due. It is possible to make Kogi State the commercial nerve of our country. It is possible to get Ajaokuta Steel Company working again. It is possible to build an airport in Kogi State. By the grace of God, we shall bring all these to pass under our watch as a government. Under our watch, there shall be no more delay in the payment of salaries of workers in Kogi State.
Under our watch, all arrears of salaries/pensions owed by the previous governments shall be paid without delay. Under our watch, the practice of imposing administrators on the people in all the local government areas of the state shall not stand anymore. We shall conduct elections in all the local government areas of the state so as to allow the people to choose their local government chairmen and councilors. Under our watch there shall be free and fair elections in the state. Under our watch Kogi State will be one of the best, most beautiful and most prosperous states in Nigeria.
SANITATION
We shall ensure that our environments are medically fit for our peoples habitation. This will reduce sicknesses and diseases, and also make our people to live longer. We will deploy health workers to various communities, especially villages to make sure that the environments where our people live are clean enough or properly sanitized for healthy habitation. We shall ensure that the food that our people eat and the water they drink are safe.
NUTRITION:
We will create awareness about proper dieting. We will deplore health workers and nutritionists to various communities to intimate our people about the value of proper dieting. We will let our people know that the types of crops they cultivate e.g. yam, rice, beans, vegetables, cassava, pigeon pea, etc can be alternated at meals thereby giving them a balance diet which would reduce sicknesses and diseases and increase longitivity of life.
COLLABORATION WITH SECURITY AGENCIES
We shall give maximum support to our security agencies in the state. This will enable them to address the security challenges in the state and to reduce crimes in the state.
REGULAR TRAINING AND RETRAINING OF CIVIL SERVANTS ESPECIALLY TEACHING STAFF
- I will borrow to pay staff if necessary. Regular payment of salaries and allowances shall not be compromised.
- Our aged people starting from the age of 65 years old shall be given free medical care/treatment in all parts of Kogi State.
Royal Fathers/Traditional Rulers:
- We will review the welfare packages of our traditional rulers so as to improve on it. As custodians of our culture and traditions, their welfare will be of utmost priority to the government.
- We shall restore all tertiary institutions in Kogi State to their former glory.
Freedom of Worship:
We shall ensure freedom of worship, devoid of molestation or victimization under our administration.
Youths and Sports Development:
Our teaming youths shall be encouraged to be involved in sports. We will make it attractive to them thereby creating opportunity for them to develop their full potentials as far as sports is concerned. This will reduce crime and restless among the youths to its barest level. Sports will be restored back to its former glory.
State Character Commission:
State Character will be reflected in my administration.
Every indigenes is important and relevant to my administration irrespective of tribe, religion, political party, and socio-economic status, etc.
This is our resolve as a party and it is also my resolve as a person. All we need to bring these to realities is the mandate of the people. It is the mandate that will be given to us through the votes of the good people of Kogi State. We must come together to bring good leadership to our state.
I, James Iyeh Ihiabeh, am the right candidate for this job, and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) is the right platform to perform the task of returning Kogi State to the path of glory!
Thank you all.
May God bless our state and the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
