By Chinwe Ugwu
There is a Nigerian saying that if you do not go under the belly
of an elephant, you can never know that it has a flat tummy. Similarly, many
public office holders especially politicians are often judged based on the
outer appearance.
One of the most talked about governors in the present
dispensation is the number one citizen of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Whatever is happening in Kogi State today is divinely designed
considering the circumstances that threw up Bello as the chief executive of the
Confluence state.
In spite of the ill-feelings expressed in some quarters by some
politicians in the state, Bello became governor and one year and eight months
down the line, there has been a mix bag of reactions from both Kogites and
other Nigerians on the performance of Bello. How has Governor Bello fared since
February 27, 2016 when he assumed office in the Brick House? Has he delivered
on his campaign promises?
One issue that causes divisions in a state is lopsided
appointments. But Governor Bello being very conscious of the diverse nature of
Kogi and the way he emerged as governor, he set out to unify the state. Hence,
he brought in equity, fairness, justice and objectivity to bear on every action
he took especially as regards the appointment of people into positions of
authority.
Bello defied the status quo and for the first time in the
history of the state, appointed a Chief of Staff from outside of his ethnic
group. None of his predecessors was that generous and tolerant of other parts
of the state but Bello did that and even including some of his closest aides.
However, Governor Bello incurred the wrath of some so-called kingmakers in the
state who were offended with the appointment of more young men and women into
government positions. They had expected him to maintain the old order.
It is a fact that Governor Bello has received more insults and
curses than any other governor for non-payment of salaries for a number of
months. But most of these critics never cared to dig into the remote causes of
why the governor has been hit by the misfortune of owed salaries. Many of the
critics do so out of ignorance, while others indulge in it for mischief
purposes and others engaged in it just to score a political point.
The problem of salary issues in Kogi State predates the Governor
Bello administration and in fact has been associated with the state since 1999.
It is axiomatic that the administrations of former governors Alhaji Ibrahim
Idris and Capt. Idris Wada actually caused the salary problem being experienced
today. These two administrations were so reckless financially that they left a
huge salary debts profile for the state.
Hence, when Governor Yahaya Bello took over the mantle of
leadership in 2016, he was unlucky to have inherited a huge debt of non-payment
of salaries. There was an over bloated wage bill for over 80,000 civil
servants; and this means both state and local government workers. Besides, as
it was the case with the previous administration, there was an unimaginable
massive and reckless corruption in the Kogi State Pension Board. In an attempt
to redress the heist that was perpetrated in the previous years, Governor Bello
initiated a screening exercise, whose revelation was mind boggling. It was
clear that the previous administration had over employed and could not manage
the over bloated workforce thereby leaving behind accumulated salaries and
allowances. Governor Bello became the fall guy of the wickedness and
mismanagement of the past.
Consequently, he inaugurated a screening committee, whose sole
aim was to cleanse the rot left behind by the previous administrations. These
are facts that most critics of this administration have failed to understand.
Of course, some of them are unaware that Kogi is one among 25 other states that
are faced with the challenge of workers’ salaries. Therefore, it is not an
issue that is peculiar to the state. Despite these obvious bulwarks placed by
previous administrations, Bello with the assistance of bailout and Paris club
refunds as published in national dailies and on the state government’s
website recently, has made significant improvement and advancement in the
settlement of salaries and pensions.
It is curious that people have soon forgotten that before the
coming in of Governor Bello, Lokoja, the capital city of Kogi State was an
eyesore and for those who passed through the city they can attest to the fact
that Bello has made tremendous efforts to give the capital a facelift and more
befitting status. The State Sanitation Board had embarked on an indefinite
strike as a result of non-payment of salaries thereby throwing the entire city
into humongous heap of refuse. Of course, it was a contributory factor to the
outbreak of cholera epidemics in Lokoja metropolis and its environs.
Consequently and unfortunately some lives were lost. This was due to the
failures and inept leadership of Wada and his cohorts of underperforming aides.
It was the arrival of Bello on the scene that brought some form of sanity. As
soon as Governor Bello assumed office, he swung into action and reached an
accord with the organised labour, who immediately called off the strike. In
order to strengthen the understanding between government and the organised
labour, the governor had on May Day donated two buses to the organised labour
in the state in order to facilitate their labour activities in the state.
Buoyed by the need to boost the environmental condition of the
state, the administration of Bello paid a counterpart fund to enlist the
support of the Nigeria Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to assist
in tackling the menace of erosion in some parts of the state. The effort has
made the state to be among the 18 elite states in the country to benefit from
the Federal Government and World Bank programme to protect the land from environmental
degradation. Similarly, the governor embarked on the resuscitation of the Ekuku
Dam in Agassa at Okene local government area with vigorous effort to ensure its
completion aimed at boosting portable water supply to the entire central
senatorial district of the state. The perpetual darkness that was the lot of
Lokoja has since disappeared as the city has been electrified with
solar-powered street lights, rehabilitation of township roads, cleaner and
beautified environment, building of new state-of-the-art structures and
renovation of Government House.
Similarly, the state government is doing all within its powers
to fulfil its promise on capital projects such as roads, rural electrification,
portable water for the rural communities, quality healthcare centers, free
medical outreach, GYB model school projects and series of projects which are
completed and some are ongoing. The communities in Dekina and Omala Local
Government Areas where the two ex-governors hail from never had electricity
until Governor Yahaya Bello came to their rescue to provide electricity to
those communities.
One of the striking things Governor Bello has done since coming
into office his critics have refused to acknowledge is the realignment of the
state civil service. The workers verification committee, which was set up
to determine the actual staff strength by fishing out ghost workers from the
system, exposed the corruption and incredible atrocities committed by very
senior civil servants in the state. Some of the bizarre revelations made by the
verification committee was the discovery of ghost schools, fictitious schools
and salaries were being paid to workers from such non-existent institutions.
This exercise has therefore helped a great deal in sanitising the state civil service.
It is on record that Governor Bello is one of the few state
chief executives in the present dispensation to grant full financial autonomy
to the local governments. The implication is that the state government
ceased deductions of local government allocation, a practice, which has been
severally condemned by all and sundry.
The administration has also executed a lot of projects including
the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a foreign firm to
revive and upgrade as well as expand the Organic Fertilizer Plant in Agbeji in
Dekina Local Government Area of the state. Work has also resumed on the
dualisation of Lokoja township roads up to Lokoja-Okene road as well as
construction of the drainage system along the major road in the state capital
which has eased the traffic flow in the confluence city.
Since the governor came on the scene, the Internally Generated
Revenue profile of the state has been on the rise. This is largely due to the
accountability, transparency and high level professionalisation brought to bear
on the state Inland Revenue Services as well as other corrective measures
adopted to block revenue leakages. In fact, the Chairman, Kogi State Inland
Revenue Services (KGIRS), Alhaji Oseni Yakubu, said the ability of the Yahaya Bello
administration to make the state conducive for businesses has been responsible
for the growth of small and large businesses which taxes contributed to the
increase in the state’s IGR. He said “when we came on board, taxation in Kogi
State was in a deplorable situation,” adding that the situation was so bad that
the Revenue Graph showed a flat.
Governor Bello has also done exceedingly well to contain the
terrible security situation in the state prior to his resumption of duty.
Before 2016, the state was the hub of all manners of crimes including armed
robbery, kidnapping and a host of others. Bello has in less than two years rid
the state of criminals and criminality. Today, residents of the state go to bed
with their two eyes closed while commuters who passed through the state no
longer go through the harrowing experience of being attacked by armed robbers
or kidnappers.
In line with the APC’s programme on job creation, Governor Bello
has empowered 2,500 youths on various skills acquisition and vocational
training programme, 100 Youths trained on ICT, 460 gainfully employed in
Revenue board, 1600 presently undergoing recruitment into health sector, 1600
Vigilantes are gainfully employed, 100 forest guards are also employed, 500
recruitment of fresh teachers is ongoing and mega tourism development is
already in pipeline and all these achievements recorded within the last 21
months can necessitate the potential industrialisation of Kogi State.
Similarly, Kogi State Social investment programme has empowered
over 50,000 of Youths and women on Npower and Government Enterprises and
Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
It is, therefore, not out of place to urge the good people of
Kogi State to continue to support their youthful governor to accomplish his
laudable plans.
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