Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has admited that his government lost the ‘propaganda war’ during his first term in office.
Bello made this known in his inaugural speech during his swearing-in ceremony for a second term in office in Government House, Lokoja, on Monday.
He blamed “beneficiaries of the old ways” for portraying the state and his government in bad light.
“Rent-seekers who were beneficiaries of the old ways as well as their protégés came at us with Vengeance, like a Tsunami. They twisted and turned our every word and action into all sorts of negative shapes before the world, especially through their captive media, and for a while the news only reported bad things about us, nearly all of which were false.
“However, a key attribute of the Truth is that it cannot be hidden forever. Today, with the help of God and the support of our people, we have not only reduced the footprint of sectionalism in our body politic but we have also tamed the capacity of their beneficiaries to redeploy and benefit from them.
“We are not ashamed to admit that we lost the propaganda war during our first term, but neither are we shy to say that we won the battle for Truth, which is more important. Today, we are defined, not by the lies which uncharitable people have told about us to the nation, but by the many infallible proofs of great governance which we were able to produce and deliver to our people across the state.
“I will be guilty of a huge error if I do not at this juncture say a big ‘thank you!’ to those brave souls in the media, both conventional and social media who insisted on reporting only what is true and fair about us. In the face of syndicated and unrelenting fake news about the New Direction Administration in Kogi State, these brave souls manged to find and report the truth, sometimes at the risk of offending editors or advertisers. Thank you for remaining true to your conscience and your journalistic ethics,” he said.
Governor Bello insisted that there is plenty of proof today that during his first term in office, his government made critical developmental and governance milestones which are helping to reposition Kogi State to face the future head-on and unafraid.
“Above all, we set out to touch the lives of the people with the dividends of democracy and it is not immodest to say that we did a good job of it, by every objective standard.
“We started off by developing a well drafted plan, the New Direction Blueprint, which acted as our roadmap for accelerated development of Kogi State in all her constituencies. It provided guidance and helped us to focus on 7 key thematic areas, to wit, education, health, infrastructure, job creation, civil service reforms, agriculture and security. Today, the results speak for themselves.
“For the first time since Kogi State was created we have enjoyed equity in the spread of government appointments and projects. When it comes to appointments, everyone knows that Yahaya Bello only considers merit, fairness and justice in selection and placement of persons who work with him. When it comes to projects, we have tried to spread the love proportionately between our three Senatorial Districts.
“Tribe, religion or class are no longer the determinants of who or where gets what. They play no role except as a measure of proportionality. We also made it a deliberate policy to observe affirmative action. For the first time in our history, the youth and the womenfolk occupied the largest number of high profile positions in government ever, and wielded real influence.”
He also hailed the people of Kogi state for keeping their leaders on their toes.
“Kogites are the best people any Governor could ask for. They will set high standards for you, they will knock you into shape, they will keep you on your toes and no matter what you do, only your best will ever be good enough for them at any time. However, if you serve them well, they will prove to the world that you are their own, and when you need them, they will stand solidly with you – an army that no one can defeat. I will never get over the massive support they gave me for my reelection!
“In fact, let me use this opportunity to specially appreciate the awesome people of Kogi State for the unbelievable support they gave us in all the elections which were held during our first term, and in particular, the 2019 General Elections and the November 16 Kogi State Governorship Polls. This wonderful people handed the All Progressives Congress (APC) decisive wins across board in all the elections.”
