The tasks before Kogi state governor

Kogi state may have won for itself some acronyms in the recent past. One of these is being firsts in some major political developments that have made the state to mean many things to so many people. History was made in the state recently when Yahaya Bello was inaugurated as the governor of the state. On January 27, Bello became the first Nigerian and the first governor to be sworn in without a deputy, a development never witnessed in the country.

In the supplementary election of December 5, 2015, he emerged the first governorship candidate to run for office without a running mate.

Even the inauguration itself achieved a series of firsts. Most of the powerful elected politicians of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja failed to attend the inauguration ceremony as only two governors of the neighbouring Benue and Nasarawa states attended the event.

The case challenging the whole process is in court, but one thing that is certain now is that Yahaya is currently occupying the Lugard House, being the seat of power, barring the outcome of the cases challenging the election.

One thing that the death of Abubakar Audu brought to the state is the shift of power from Kogi East that has produced the leadership since the creation of the state over 20 years ago. Other ethnic groups from Kogi West and Kogi Central have been clamouring for power shift and this should serve as an impetus for the governor to hit the ground running, while the party continues with the search for a credible and acceptable candidate as his deputy.

While the possibility of the ongoing governorship tussle lasting longer than expected is high, the onus is on the new governor to put on his thinking cap on and make sure that he establishes an inclusive government as a matter of urgency for a state that is in need of development. It is on record that the civil service state owes its workers salaries as well as local government employees who have been receiving one quarter of their salaries for over three years now.

It is also true that the Bello is coming on board as the sixth democratically elected governor of Kogi state at the time when the state’s share of revenue allocation from the federation account is nose-diving, just as the national purse has gone down considerably due to lower price of oil at the international market.

The facts on ground reveal that the incoming administration will be dealing with high expectations of all in the state who see the victory of the APC in the last election as the one to usher in the much-craved for and desired change, bring succour and positive turnaround to the Kogi people both home and outside.

Considering the present economic reality coupled with the urgent need to rescue the people from poverty and hunger, the exigency of the moment demands that the incoming administration looks inward to sort out the funds to provide the much needed succour for the people.

The bare truth is that no state can thrive or perform optimally when majority of its resources that should go into the infrastructural development, like construction of motorable roads, provision of potable water, improvement and establishment of hospitals to enhance healthcare delivery system, among others, is spent on salaries and allowances.

As it currently stands, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state is nothing to write home about, despite the existence of natural resources. Therefore, the new administration has no business waiting for the monthly allocations from the federation account before the workers’ salaries are paid.

Moving Kogi state from its present status of a civil service state into an industrialized one, which would ensure creation of ample jobs for the rising unemployed youth and curb the prevailing hunger, poverty and restiveness as promised by the APC during the gubernatorial campaign, can only be possible through an improved IGR.

Kogi state is also blessed with brilliant, enterprising and hard-working people, who can harness the abundant mineral resources for the good of all. This can be seen in the resilience of inhabitants of the eastern part of Kogi who are great farmers and fishermen who can feed the state with yams, rice and fish that come largely from the area.

Therefore, running an open-door and an all-inclusive government that would ensure the cross fertilisation of ideas is needed if Bello wants to succeed. And from all indications, he has no choice!