By Isah Ismail
The administration of Captain Idris Wada of Kogi state came into office on January 27, 2012. On assumption of office, the governor inherited several projects. Despite initial challenges, Wada hit the ground running by completing most of the projects while initiating new ones, many of which have been completed.
In a state broadcast to mark the third anniversary of the administration, Wada stated that ‘the present administration has invested greater chunk of the state’s resources in building critical infrastructure and in the transformation of all sectors of the state’s economy for the benefit of our people’.
Kogi state Commissioner for Information, Hajiya Zainab Suleiman Okino, said, “The last three years of Wada witnessed deliberate emphasis on probity and accountability, elimination of corruption and complete value re-orientation in an inclusive government that has made good governance a priority”.
She said the Wada administration has made appreciable progress in agriculture, infrastructure, rural transformation, commerce and industry, youth and women empowerment as well as human capital development.
Among the many visible signposts of transformation in Kogi state is the increase in the number of roads so far constructed or rehabilitated. According to Engr. Godwin Onama, state commissioner for works, “the administration of Capt. Idris Wada has undertaken the construction of 58 road projects across the state. They include Kabba, Okene and Ankpa township roads; Lokoja, Felele, Anyigba township roads among others”.
The administration of Wada has given a leap to communities through its massive rural transformation agenda. The government has embarked on a comprehensive programme aimed at eradicating rural poverty and making life more meaningful for the people. Integrating development in agriculture and natural resources with the rural transformation agenda has led to improvement in basic amenities in rural areas with corresponding lift in the living standard of the people.
In an interactive session with stakeholders, Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Zaccheaus Atte, said Kogi state is the number one cassava producing state in Nigeria. Atte noted that remarkable gains recorded in rice and cassava production which culminated in the establishment of cassava and rice processing zones in different parts of the state were as a result of the commitment of the state government under Wada to position Kogi state as a major hub for agriculture and related industries in Nigeria. This, he said, also explains why the federal government and a number of private investors are collaborating with Kogi state in the establishment of Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) for rice and cassava in the state.
The multiplier effect of the integrated approach to the eradication of rural poverty has created over 4,000 jobs for youths and over 3,500 fishermen/fish farmers in the state. The administration has also undertaken the construction and resuscitation of over 32 water schemes in different parts of the state, drilling of 22 motorized and solar-powered boreholes.
In the face of threat from nature, Wada completed a massive embankment to protect the multi-billion naira Greater Lokoja Water Supply Scheme after it was submerged by flood waters in 2012. Contract for the metering of water supply from the Greater Lokoja Water Project has been awarded. And this is intended to become a major source of revenue for the state.
On manpower development, the state government has made massive investment in education to make public schools better and more competitive.
The government has restated its commitment to the payment of WAEC fees of final year students in all secondary schools in the state. All the 42,558 candidates who sat for the May/June, 2014 SSCE were all paid for by the state government. Commissioner for Education, Dr (Mrs.) Agnes Okai, said the state government was addressing anomalies in the figures provided by some administrators of the scheme.
The health sector has enjoyed a fair share of the transformation in the state through the provision of new healthcare facilities and upgrading of existing ones. Some of the projects include on-going construction of the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, general hospitals at Odu-Ogboyaga and Icheke, completion of primary health centre at Umomi, etc.
In the information sector, the state government has resuscitated the Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation with the acquisition and installation of new booster stations in Egbe, Otite and Ochaja. There has also been improvement in manpower development and professionalization of all agencies under the ministry of information to reposition them for greater efficiency.
In a bid to make the state more attractive for tourists, the state government has commenced resuscitation and upgrading of government-owned hotels.
The Confluence Carnival, now in its second year, is attracting more attention and the government has commenced development of all tourism potentials in the state. A Memorandum of Understanding for a public private partnership to develop Mount Patti in Lokoja as a world class tourism centre has been signed between the government and a foreign company.
The government has also improved road transportation system with the commissioning of fleets of Kogi intra-city buses to complement its tourism development initiatives.
Looking at the giant strides recorded by the administration in the last three years, it is no exaggeration to say that Wada’s Kogi state has become a signpost of stability, good governance and progress.
Ismail wrote from Lokoja, Kogi state