Kogi: Up, down and up again

One fact that was clear from the onset was that the financial position of the state was in dire straits – the monthly allocation would not be enough to settle the state’s obligations.  Instead of playing to the gallery and engaging in politics of blame, the administration took the bull by the horns by facing […]

One fact that was clear from the onset was that the financial position of the state was in dire straits – the monthly allocation would not be enough to settle the state’s obligations.  Instead of playing to the gallery and engaging in politics of blame, the administration took the bull by the horns by facing the enormous challenges which included a recently increased wage bill, pension arrears from as far back as 1991 and a huge infrastructural deficit amongst others. They set out immediately to increase the Internally Generated Revenue by mandating e-collection of revenues rather than the desk collection by MDAs.  That singular action drew the ire of the cabal who were profiting from the old system of cash collections.
The next measure they took was to tidy the state’s financial records and approach the capital market for a bond of 20 billion naira.  After a long campaign of calumny mounted by opposition elements masquerading as elders of the state, the bond was eventually approved in tranches of 5 billion naira by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.   The state government applied the bond to various capital projects spread across road construction, provision of water, health, transport, housing etc. They ensured that about half of the projects are revenue-generating.
One of the major projects being financed by the bond is the upgrading of the Welcome to Lokoja road.  This main highway was in a terrible state because of poor quality of work done when it was constructed by the previous administration.  By the time the construction work is completed, the face of the city of Lokoja would have been transformed and the nightmares commuters face on that road would have been eradicated. Another road that will bring succour to the commuters of Lokoja is the New Otokiti- Ganaja dual carriage bypass which is being constructed by this administration.  This road will open a new part of Lokoja up for development.
Another project worthy of note is the 250-bed University Teaching Hospital that is being planned as a reference hospital that will serve not only residents, but patients from all over the country.  The hospital was designed by Indian consultants and plans are underway to affiliate the hospital with a hospital in India so that our people can benefit from leading medical expertise from abroad. Zonal hospitals are also being upgraded to provide back up for the hospital.  The Odu Orthopedic hospital is also being constructed from the bond.
Kogi was the only state that did not have a state house in the central district of Abuja and the land allocated for this purpose had been converted to personal use by unscrupulous citizens of the state.  After a long tussle, this administration regained control of the land and has begun the construction of the 11-storey Kogi House project.  
Till date, the state has so far accessed 8 billion out of the 20 billion approved and most of the projects are well underway.  The campaign of calumny and misrepresentations by self-styled opposition elements has continued unabated. Their various petitions and the decline in the capital market contributed in no small measure to the delay in accessing the second trance but the administration is committed to leaving no stone unturned to achieve the governor’s dream of taking Kogi State into the comity of developed states in Nigeria by the year 2020.
Abu wrote from Adankolo, Lokoja, Kogi State.