- Presents 10-Point Recommendation
The Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET) has congratulated the state government and citizens of Kogi State as it marks 35 years since its creation on August 27, 1991, while calling on Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration to make “citizen-centered infrastructure” the defining priority of its next phase in office.
In a statement signed by its Chairperson, Hamza Aliyu, the civil society umbrella body described the anniversary as a milestone that should prompt not only celebration but “honest reflection” on how much work remains to translate the state’s natural advantages into improved living standards for residents.
KONGONET credited the Ododo administration with visible interventions across road construction and rehabilitation, education, healthcare, agriculture, workers’ welfare and rural development, noting continued investment in primary healthcare centers, schools and roads across the state’s three senatorial districts.
The group also commended the administration’s engagement with civil society through the Open Government Partnership, describing the platform as an important avenue for citizen participation in governance decisions.
Despite the progress, KONGONET said many communities continue to face serious difficulties. Road conditions remain poor and, in places, unsafe, despite ongoing projects, while access to safe water remains unreliable, particularly in Lokoja metropolis. The group said health facilities are still short of sufficient doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory personnel and radiographers, even where buildings and equipment exist. Annual flooding continues to threaten lives, homes, farms and livelihoods, and insecurity, including kidnapping, persists along highways and in farming communities. Youth unemployment, poor sanitation and waste management, and rural poverty round out the list of concerns raised.
“These are not criticisms for criticism’s sake,” the group said, framing the issues as reminders that development should ultimately be measured by citizens’ lived experience.
Ten-Point Recommendation List
KONGONET outlined a series of recommendations for the state government. It called for an accelerated State Infrastructure Renewal Plan targeting township and rural roads, bridges, drainage and water infrastructure in underserved communities, and urged the government to prioritize completing and maintaining existing projects over starting new ones. The group pressed for a resolution to the long-standing water crisis in Lokoja alongside expanded sustainable water schemes statewide, and for the health workforce to be strengthened through aggressive recruitment, retention and equitable deployment of medical personnel.
Other recommendations included expanding flood prevention and climate resilience measures, such as drainage expansion and community early-warning systems; deepening security partnerships with communities along highways and farming corridors; and expanding youth opportunities through agriculture, skills development and private-sector investment. KONGONET also called for a stronger culture of infrastructure maintenance backed by realistic budgets, continued strengthening of transparency and citizen participation through the Open Government Partnership, and for government performance to be measured by tangible outcomes — shorter travel times, safer communities, functioning health facilities and improved household livelihoods.
The statement also called for infrastructure planning to account for heavy mining traffic and the enforcement of axle-load requirements, arguing that industries placing extra strain on public roads and assets bear a responsibility to help protect them.
KONGONET singled out Governor Ododo’s “approachable and consultative disposition” and the relatively cordial atmosphere between government, civil society and other stakeholders as a foundation the administration should build on.
“A government that welcomes constructive criticism can correct mistakes faster,” the group said, urging the governor to use current goodwill to forge a broader consensus across Kogi’s political, ethnic, religious and geographical divides around shared development priorities.
The statement concluded with KONGONET expressing optimism that, if the current atmosphere of engagement is matched with disciplined investment in basic services, Kogi State could become “one of Nigeria’s strongest examples” of how strategic location, natural resources, good governance and citizen participation can be converted into shared prosperity.
