3rd Anniversary Speech: Wada highlights achievements in Kogi after three years

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3rd anniversary speech – Fellow Citizens of Kogi State

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Today marks three years since I assumed office as the Governor of Kogi State on January 27, 2012. It is with utmost gratitude to God that I join you my fellow citizens of Kogi State today to celebrate the third anniversary of our administration in the state.

2. You would recall that our administration had to contend with a number of challenges at inception which sought to undermine our resolve to achieve some development targets for our dear Kogi State.

However, with determination, focus and courage driven by our mission to transform the state, we have succeeded not only in laying the foundation for a greater Kogi State, but have also invested greater chunk of our resources in building critical infrastructure and the transformation of all sectors of the state’s economy for the benefit of all our people. This modest success story essentially is the product of the painstaking efforts we have made to implement the Blueprint for the development of our state which was put together by a Think Tank committee we set up upon assumption of office.

3. On behalf of the Government of Kogi State, I wish to express my profound gratitude to all citizens of our great state for your unflinching support and prayers in the past three years. We shall continue to count on your loyalty and support to see us through this very crucial last lap of the life of our administration.
4. In the past three years, we have chosen to focus on ensuring stability in developing critical infrastructure across all sectors. We have also sustained our policy of ensuring good governance which has been the hallmark of this administration since we came into office. Hence the theme of this year’s anniversary is the celebration of Three Years of Stability, Good Governance and Progress.

5. Following our strategic development thrust as outlined in the Blueprint, we have made appreciable progress in many sectors including Agriculture and Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Commerce and Industry (SMEs, Tourism and Solid Minerals), and Human Capital Development. I will briefly highlight some of the milestone achievements made in some of the various areas mentioned.
6. Our achievement in Good Governance has been deliberate with emphasis on probity and accountability in governance, elimination of endemic corruption, complete value reorientation, inclusiveness as well as harmony across ethnic, religious, and other interest groups in the state.

7. In September 2014, the State Government established the Bureau of Statistics following the passage into law of an executive bill seeking to establish the Bureau. This paved the way for partnership between Kogi State and major international financial institutions and donor agencies that are more likely to rely on empirical data from the Bureau before going into transactions with the state government.
8. Furthermore, we have undertaken major reforms in the operation of our Internally Generated Revenue machinery leading to a far more effective Internal Revenue Board both in the collection process and overall management of IGR. As a result of these reforms, our Internally Generated Revenue has increased by more than 250% in 2014 alone.
This was higher than the expected increase of 100% in my address during the second anniversary celebration in January 2014.
9. The development of critical infrastructure across the state has been a priority for this administration. In a bid to quicken the pace of socio-economic transformation in all parts of the state, this administration has undertaken the construction of 58 road projects across the state. Some of the road projects include:
 Mopa township road
 Kabba township road
 Isanlu township road
 Lokoja township roads
 Rehabilitation of Koton-karfe township road
 Dekina / Olowa / Abocho / Ogbabede / Agada–Ajogwomi road
 Idah/onyedega road
 Shintaku/Odugbo/mozum road
 Anyigba/Abejukolo road
10. These road networks across communities in the state are helping to provide improved access to urban markets and enabling better social interaction among our people.
11. As I stated in my address last year, our government continues to accord priority to education as the cornerstone to our human capital development agenda. We have made massive investments in education even as we explore every means to make our schools better and sustain the industrial harmony in the education sector. Recent investments by the government in the education sector include:
(a) Construction of 2 Hostel Blocks at the Kogi State University, Anyigba and another 2 Hostel Blocks at the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja
(b) Rehabilitation of 3 Blocks of Classrooms, Examination Halls and Administrative Blocks in St. Charles College Ankpa, GSS Dekina, Holy Rosary College Idah, AbdulAziz, Attah Memorial College, Okene and St, Augustine College, Kabba.
12. This government has NO plan to cancel the payment of WAEC fees for all students in the state. What we need to do is take stock of the accurate number of candidates, as we have discovered disturbing inflation on the number of students over the past two years.

I am sure all parents would appreciate the need for our limited resources to be spent appropriately on genuine beneficiaries of the WAEC fees subsidy.
13. In recognition of the role of education in manpower development, Kogi State Government in partnership with the British Council has trained 630 teachers, with 30 each from the 21 Local Government Areas in Kogi State on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Another partnership between the Kogi State Government and the South Korean Government has made it possible for the establishment of Nigerian-Korean Friendship Vocational Institute located on the premises of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja for long and short term training in skills acquisition.
14. In agriculture, Kogi State is the Number One Cassava Producing state in Nigeria. We have recorded remarkable gains in rice production. The State Government has established Cassava and Rice Processing Factories in different parts of the state.
15. Our poverty eradication programme in Agriculture has created 4,500 jobs for youths and over 3,500 fishermen/fish farmers in the state. We have also provided tractors and equipment for mechanized farming in the state. Agriculture remains the largest source of employment and income for most of our people and the source of raw materials for agro-based industries in the state.
16. The Federal Government is also collaborating with the State to establish Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) for Rice and Cassava.
The Cassava SCPZ is located in Alape in Kabba/Bunu LGA. The State Government is working with investors like Dangote, BUA, Nigeria Flourmills, Chelsea Farms and American Rice Farmers and Cargill International to develop the SCPZs.
17. In the Water Resources sub-sector, we have completed the embankment to protect the Multi-Billion Naira Greater Lokoja Water Supply Scheme. This administration has also undertaken the construction and resuscitation of over 32 Water Schemes in different parts of the state as well as drilling of 22 Motorized and Solar-powered Boreholes.

We have also embarked on the recruitment and training of Engineers, Technicians and Hydrologists to understudy the expatriate Engineers currently managing the Greater Lokoja Water Project, with a view to taking over from the expatriates in the near future.
18. In the rural development sub-sector of our Transformation Agenda, the Ministry of Rural Development is the vehicle for our intervention through the various projects aimed at eliminating rural poverty in the state.
As a result, the State and Local Governments have been able to embark on projects worth over 1 Billion Naira in the areas such as Motorised Boreholes, Construction of Primary Health Clinic, Classrooms, Purchase of Ambulances and Water Projects as well as Feeder Roads across the 21 Local Government Areas in the state.
19. Our intervention in the health sector through the provision and upgrading of new and existing healthcare facilities across different tiers of the sector has been applauded by stakeholders within and outside the state. Some of the projects so far being executed include:
 Completion of Primary Health Centre at Umomi
 Construction of Hostel Block, ICT Centre, and Administrative Block at the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Obangede
 Construction of General Hospital at Odu-Ogboyaga
 Construction of General Hospital, Icheke
 On-going Construction of the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba
 Construction of Kogi State Diagnostic Centre, Lokoja
 Renovation of Workers’ Village Clinic, Lokoja
 Renovation of General Hospital, Okene
20. The mandate of the youth and women development sub-sector of our transformation agenda has resulted in meaningful impact in the lives of our women and youth across the state. Our YAD4KOGI programme is an eloquent testimony to this.
21. What is most pleasing to me and many of those who have continually observed my administration’s strategic implementation of our programmes is that we have recorded a measure of unparalleled peace and security in the state.

I appreciate the role that everyone has played in this regard, particularly our Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, our Political Leaders, Women Leaders, Youth Leaders, and our dedicated Security Agencies. All of you have contributed immensely to establish Kogi as a peaceful and secure state.
22. The elections coming up on February 14 and 28, 2015 are critical for the future and progress of our country. I urge all our citizens to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and participate in the process. However, we must all be law abiding and avoid violence. As I have always maintained, no political aspiration is worth the life of an individual. This must be your watchword as we go into the elections next month.

23. Finally, while we will continue to offer committed and sincere leadership. I urge you all to continue to demonstrate trust, faith, understanding, and support for me and my team as we strive to serve you better.
24. God bless you all.

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