Kogi @32: Gov Bello urges unity, commitment, peace for progress
By Idris Ahmed
Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, said the August 27th anniversary celebration of the creation of Kogi State is a day of sobber reflection upon the journey so far, for remembrance and recommitment towards progress .
Kogi State emerged as an entity from parts of Benue, and Kwara States on the 27th day of August, 1991, full of promise and possibility of a new era for the people.
Addressing the people of the state on Sunday on the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the state, the Governor, expressed satisfaction and pride that the people are now united and living in peace and have attained progress in infrastructure and socio economic development.
” Since that day of the creation of the state, we have come a long way. In the process, we have overcome challenges and though our history has been chequered, we have continued to journey towards a stronger and more vibrant Kogi 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,
He explained that throughout his tenure as Governor, his commitment to the New Direction Blueprint has been the major driver of actions and decisions of the administration.
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Bello noted that the policy plan has served well as the guiding light, that has led towards the accelerated and proportional development envisaged from inception, across all constituencies in the state.
He explained further that the present administration have taken remarkable strides which are both visible and impactful on education, health, infrastructure, youth empowerment, civil service reform, security, agriculture.
” We have been able to do so much irrespective of the back to back years of financial under delivery, 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 and the World Bank’s State Financial Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) index, time and again.” Bello explained.
The Governor disclosed that the leadership and governance has been meticulously planned and executed, with the same intention embarked upon since the creation of the Kogi State and the 32-Year Development Plan put in place by the present administration.
He said the vision of the administration is to provide a ready Blueprint for the future leadership to continue developing Kogi State into Nigeria’s foremost and most secure emerging commercial hub, leveraging the geographical location, natural endowments, and human resources for a sustainable future.
He told the people of the need to ensure that the state does not fall into the hands of a leadership that will thwart the efforts of the past leaderships or those that will ignore the needs of our people of our State, promising to ensure that Kogi State transits into the hands of a successor that is committed to Continuity and Consolidation of the far-reaching legacies of our Administration.
Bello used the occasion to formally declare Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman as the preferred candidate and successor and presented to the people of Kogi State as the 2023 Gubernatorial election.
He described the APC candidate as well known for his humility and humane underlined by professionalism and strong leadership skills and expressed confidence in his ability to continue the upward trend in the growth graph established by the New Direction administration.
