By Femi Olugbemi.
The Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Prince) Matthew Kolawole has solicited for the support and cooperation of traditional rulers in the State for the New Direction administration.
Rt. Hon. Kolawole made the appeal at a meeting he organised with the traditional rulers from the five local government areas that make up the Okun Yoruba speaking zone in the State yesterday in Kabba.
According to him, the meeting becomes imperative for him to meet with them since he assumed duty as the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly; first to familiarise with them, second to seek for their unflinching support and cooperation with the current administration in the State led by Alhaji Yahaya Bello, third to urge them to continue to promote peace and unity in their domain that will in the long run lead to unprecedented development of the entire State.
While commending the royal fathers in the state for their continuous support for the new direction administration and maintaining peace in their various domains, the Speaker said he holds the traditional institution in high esteem considering the major role it played during his electioneering campaigns which led to his overwhelming victory at the poll in 2015.
He acknowledged the giant efforts of the traditional rulers in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area led by the immediate past Obaro of Kabba, late Oba Michael Olobayo who on many occasions advised the political class to maintain decorum and play the game by its rules; a laudable gesture he pointed out has paid off at the end of the day.
He said the traditional institution is a strategic institution that is ordained by God to play some special roles in maintaining peace for the overall development of the people, noting that it is only God that ordain and appoint Kings to rule over the affairs of men in any society.
Rt. Hon. Kolawole said haven understood the strategic position the royal fathers occupy in the overall development of the people, it becomes very important for him to meet them and seek their support for the current administration in the State.
He said on assumption of office in January 2016, Governor Yahaya Bello inherited a lot of liabilities that has been bedevilling the State, which to a great extent held the State hostage for almost two decades and in his genuine quest to clear the mess coupled with the drastic drop in the monthly allocation accrued to the State and the low Internally Generated Revenue profile the State has maintained over time, governance becomes more challenging hence he was left with no other option than to take the bull by the horns to carry out holistic reforms that will reposition the State for the benefit of all irrespective of tribe and religion.
Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole said though it is painful the resources accrued to the State at moment is no longer enough to cater for the needs of the people especially civil servants, the 6th Assembly totally supports the Governor to embark on the Staff Verification Exercises which has exposed many fraudulent individuals within the system that has perpetrated fraudulent acts over time that led the State to where it is today.
He said issues of salary will be finally laid to rest soon, assuring the people that since the staff verification exercises have been completed and those found wanting removed from the payroll, every civil servant cleared will be getting their salary, noting that as part of the team that met with the NLC and TUC during the negotiation before the suspended strike embarked upon recently by the labour unions in the State , where it was agreed that all cleared staff should be paid from this point while their arrears will be given priority as soon as the State government has money to clear it.
According to him, most of the bad news on the pages of newspaper and social media about the State are been orchestrated by some self centred politicians who are hell bent to continue promoting disaffection in the State to score cheap political points, noting that Okun Yoruba speaking area of Kogi State has never had it so good in terms of holding key positions under any administration such as now in the State. He therefore called on the people to support Governor Yahaya Bello to return for another 4 years after which the West Senatorial District with the support of both East and Central Senatorial Districts would also produce the Governor for the first time after many years of the state creation.
He said despite the Governor being a young man, he has demonstrated a lion heart with good intentions to confront some fundamental issues that have over the years barred the state from moving forward, stressing that many contracts were awarded by previous administrations which has been paid for without any reasonable work done. It is expected that many of the beneficiaries of such gesture would not be happy that someone want to expose them, hence they will stop at nothing to discredit the efforts of the government.
While reacting to some of the issues raised by the royal fathers, the Speaker said the 6th Assembly under his watch will soon deliver a bill which he believes the Governor will not waste time in assenting to for it to become a law that will restrict the activities of the herdsmen in making Kogi State their favourite destination, after they have been sent parking from neighbouring states like Ekiti, Benue, Nasarawa, and Niger.
He said Kogi State will also have Kogi Grazing Commission as soon as possible, stressing that the commission will be empowered to regulate the activities of the herdsmen and other related matters.
The Speaker promised that the 6th Assembly would continue to make laws that will promote good governance in the State.
He emphasized the need for all hands to be on deck for the overall development of the State while calling on all stakeholders to support the new direction administration’s quest to reposition the State.
Speaking at the occasion, the Olubunu of Bunu land and Acting Chairman, Okun Area Traditional Council, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adebayo Ikusemoro commended the Speaker for taking such initiative to interact with the royal fathers at a time like this in the State.
He commended the New Direction administration led by Governor Yahaya Bello for his bold steps to right the wrongs of the past, promising that the traditional institution from the area will continue to cooperate with and support him in his efforts to move the State forward.
He charged politicians to emulate the Speaker who out of his free volition decided to meet with the traditional institution to seek for their support and cooperation for the government, noting that all elected officers should consider the people first as elections will soon come.
However, other royal fathers who spoke at the meeting commended the Honourable Speaker for the laudable initiative of organising such a meeting to discuss with the traditional rulers, noting that he would be the first representative in that capacity since the creation of the State to call for such meeting, urging him to continue in that light.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the event in Kabba, Rt. Hon. Kolawole said he decided to convene the meeting with the traditional rulers in Okunland because as the adage that says, ‘charity begins at home’ while he promised to hold similar meetings with other traditional rulers across the state to seek their support and cooperation with the current administration in the State.
Present at the occasion were Commander Jerry Omodara (Rtd), State Security Adviser, Oba Julius Joledo, the Elulu of Mopa; Oba Mohammed, Olukotun of Ife-Olukotun representing the Agbano of Isanlu, Oba of Oke – Eri who stood in for the Elegbe of Egbe and other royal fathers across the length and breadth of the five local government areas of Okun land.
