As Kogi marks it 32nd anniverssary of its creation, governor Yahaya Bello of the State has indicated that his success in leadership and governance had been meticulously planned and executed.
In a state-wide broadcast to mark the celebration in Lokoja on Sunday, he expressed gratitude to citizens of the state for their dedication to working together with his administration to achieve a brighter future for Kogi state that transcends all personal and clique interests.
He acknowledged the contributions of his predecessors in office to the progress of the state.
“On this Anniversary, I have decided to reference my own contributions as a leader over the 8 years of my tenure which began on 27th of January, 2016 and will round off, by the grace of God Almighty alone, on the same day next year 2024.
“As for my predecessors, it suffices to say that their times in office, including their triumphs and failures, all contribute to the land and people we have become and are becoming as we march resolutely towards the greater future that we dream of.
“I salute each of them and thank them sincerely, on behalf of all of us, for their services
“Throughout my tenure as Governor, my commitment to the New Direction Blueprint has been the major driver of our actions and decisions.
“This policy plan has served us well as our guiding light, leading us towards the accelerated and proportional development we envisaged from inception across all constituencies in our state.
“In education, health, infrastructure, youth empowerment, civil service reform, security, agriculture, and more, we have taken remarkable strides that are both visible and impactful today – even to the worst naysayer or skeptic.
“We have been able to do so much irrespective of the back to back years of financial underdelivery, which has characterized our tenure from start to finish.
“Our advances have been made possible because of our determination to display both astuteness and probity in Public Financial Management. “We have diligently reformed our budgeting, procurement, debt management, revenue generation systems, and more. It is no longer news that our commitment to financial transparency and accountability has earned us the top position among Nigerian states in the World Bank’s States’ Financial Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) index, time and again.
“In a nutshell, our success in leadership and governance has been meticulously planned and executed, and it is with the same intention that we embarked on the creation of the Kogi State 32-Year Development Plan earlier in the year.
“This plan will project our developmental aspirations for the next three decades, outlining both the short-term objectives that will derive from it and the longer-term aspirations that we must pursue.
“Our vision is clear: to provide a ready Blueprint for our future leadership to continue developing Kogi State into Nigeria’s foremost and most secure emerging commercial hub, leveraging our geographical location, natural endowments, and human resources for a sustainable future.
“This envisions a functional sociopolity with a self-sufficient economy, high standards of living, and abundant socioeconomic opportunities that is sustained by industrialisation in an operational environment that promotes ease of doing businessclimate-smart processes.
“We anticipate improved infrastructure, education, healthcare, security, and agricultural advancements, with enhanced cooperation and integration amongst citizens,” he said.
Bello reiterated his commitment to handing over the state to a successor who would be committed to continuity and consolidation of his far-reaching legacies of his administration for the transformation and development of the state.
“Today, I look to that future with an urgent imperative to ensure that we do not fall into the hands of a leadership in our State after me that will ignore the needs of our people or of our State for good governance and proportional cum accelerated development that respects our great diversity.
“In this regard, and as I round off my time in Office, I aim to ensure that Kogi State transitions into the hands of a successor that is committed to Continuity and Consolidation of the far-reaching legacies of our Administration and is able to keep providing our people with the empathetic, practical and transformational leadership that is so crucial the next stage of our development.
“Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman is the candidate that we have selected and presented to Kogi State as the candidate for the 2023 Gubernatorial Elections and our preferred successor to the GYB years. He is well known for his humility and humanness, underlined by professionalism and strong leadership skills.
“I am confident in his ability to continue the upward trend in our growth graph established by our New Direction Administration, and I solicit your support for him in the November 11 Kogi State Governorship Elections.”