By Segun Ademola Salami
Ahead of the November 11, 2023, Kogi gubernatorial election, analysts, political commentators and party loyalists are permutating, calculating and projecting the outcome of the election.
For the ruling party, the achievements of His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello have so much to offer as an advantage to the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, His Excellency, Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman (OAU).
Indeed, no single Governor can completely rebuild a state within the time available to one administration; but a lot has been done by His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello in the past nearly eight years for a new Kogi State Agenda for development.
His Excellency, Aljaji Yahaya Bello’s priority in Health, Education and infrastructural development as thematic areas of focus of the New Direction Government. The government invested heavily in Health infrastructure as well as the workforce to improve service delivery, Procurement and distribution of essential medicines, and Electronic data capturing and tracking systems to improve our Health Management Information System.
In the Education sector, the Governor has invested heavily in making sure that there is access to education for all Kogites at all levels of Education. The plethora of infrastructural facilities constructed or renovated across the state, demonstrates the commitment of the GYB-led administration to change the narrative of development in Kogi State.
A cursory look at the Sectorial Achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello’s tenure, clearly shows that Yahaya Bello came, saw and conquered. Below is a list of selected developmental giant strides of Governor Yahaya Bello for a better Kogi State:
Establishment of the GYB Model Primary School in all the 239 Wards of the State
Construction of Clinical Complex, Anyigba PAAUTH
Construction of three academic blocks at the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Idah
Rehabilitation of Shintaku/Gboloko/Dekina road
Rehabilitation of Anyigba-Ejule-Umomi-Ugwolawo-Ajaka-Idah Road
Construction of Ankpa Township Road
Construction of Ibana-Okpo-Ette-Ogugu road
Reconstruction of Community Secondary School Ajiyolo
Construction, rehabilitation and total upgrade of Zonal Hospital Idah to Specialist Hospital
Rehabilitation of Idoma road, Mahmoud Attah road
Establishment of Garri Processing Mills in Osara
Renovation and construction of a new Hostel and Clinic at the Scholl of Nursing Obagende
Electrification projects in Agassa and Ogori
Reconstruction, remodelling and expansion of Central Reference Hospital, Okene
Construction of Ohinoyi’s Palace Okene
Construction of Ozuri-Obagende road
Construction of Eika Itakpe Road
Establishment of Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara
Okene Township road
Ultra Modern General Hospital Eganyi, Ajaokuta LGA
Construction of a state of the art library at the Kogi State College of Education (Technical) Kabba
Construction of 30-bed space healthcare centre at the Kogi Polytechnic Lokoja
Renovation and remodeling of Zonal Hospital in Kabba
Construction of Cottage Hospital in Kpareke
Established Omi Rice Processing Mill and made possible for the cultivation of 800 hecters of farmland in Kogi State for rice production
Construction of Ekirin-Ade/Ohun, Iffe-Olukotun road
Construction of Ponyan-Jege-Ejuku-Ijowa (Isanlu) road
Rehabilitation of SUBEB road, Lokoja
Construction of Kogi Revenue House
Building of Debt Management Office
Building of Government House Chapel
Complete renovation of the State House of Assembly complex
Kogi State Secretariat internal road network
Kogi State High Court Complex internal road network
Provision of solar-powered streetlight along Federal University/Ganaja/Baptist Secndary School Road sections and access road to House of Assembly, Lokoja
Completion of Lokoja (Banda) – Koton-Karfe Electrification Project
Renovation, Remodeling and Expansion of Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja
Construction of Beach Embarkment, Kpata, Lokoja
Construction of Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, Lokoja
Construction of Dunamis to Federal University Specialist Hospital Road
Construction of Ganaja Junction flyover, Lokoja
Construction of Government House Road
Construction of GYB Model Science Secondary School, Adankolo, Lokoja
Renovation of the Government House Lokoja
Reconstruction of Kabba Township Roads
Reconstruction and asphalt overlay of Natako-Paparanda Squre Dual Carriageway
Ultra-Modern General Hospital, Gegu, Kogi LGA
The latest pet project of the Governor is the establishment of the Kogi State University, Kabba.
Indeed, the November, 11 Gubernatorial election is a referendum on Governor Yahaya Bello administration. When Governor Bello leaves office come January, he will leave with a clear conscience, confident that he did his best for Kogites with the time and resources available to him.
His Excellency and his New Direction Team, have worked assiduously as an Administration to fulfil the mandate that the people of the state have so enthusiastically entrusted to them twice.
They have executed life-transforming projects across the length and breadth of Kogi State from Lokoja City to Town to Villages, even Hamlets. At a time when the Naira has been steadily contracting in real value and supply, the Administration can boast of an array of projects numbering in thousands.
Bello met problems on the ground on assumption of duty, he faced the challenges and overcame them with courage and creativity.
Bello remarked that …to this day, we continue to approach our problems with resilience and determination. For the first time since the creation of Kogi State, we implemented fairness in the allocation of government appointments and projects.
We prioritized merit, fairness and justice in selecting and placing individuals who worked with us, and we have strived to equally distribute resources across the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
Tribal, religious and class affiliations no longer play a role in determining who gets what, but rather serve as a measure of inclusivity and proportionality.
Kogi State is a microcosm of Nigeria and therefore requires a meticulous and smart administrator to manage the affairs of the State. Governor Yahaya Bello has managed diversity well and promoted inclusiveness in the scheme of things in the State.
Just recently, Governor Bello brought the Minister for Works to Kogi State for Federal Government intervention in the reconstruction of Federal Roads; this is no mean feat indeed. With the array of projects and developmental policies under the sterling and visionary leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello in Kogi State, APC is the party to beat and Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman (OAU) is the candidate to beat in the November 11, 2023 Kogi Gubernatorial election.
