Kingsley Fanwo is the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications. He talks about the achievements of Governor Usman Ododo, initiatives of the administration to grow the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and improvement in the health sector. He also spoke on the efforts of the government to secure the state, why the state is attractive to investors, among others. INIOBONG IWOK brings excerpts:
Can you speak on Governor Usman Ododo’s achievements so far?
It has been fourteen months of good governance from all perspectives. The Governor was clear from the onset as to his commitment and readiness to finish all inherited projects and also initiate new ones. He was part of the immediate past new direction administration, and I’ll say he came prepared.
Currently, he’s remodeling hundreds of primary healthcare centres spread across the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state and also powering those centres with solar energy.
The PHCs are going to be able to render secondary healthcare services. Many rural communities are witnessing a serious government presence in the healthcare sector for the first time.
The decision to do this by the Chief Servant of Kogi State was informed by the huge investment of the immediate past administration in the secondary and tertiary healthcare infrastructure. As a way of continuity and consolidation, the Ododo Administration is raising the capacity of Primary Healthcare Centres across the state.
They’re the closest to the people. In the area of road infrastructure, the Zone 8 – Barracks – Shettima – Zango to GYB Junction Road, as well as the Zone 8 – CNN to Crusher Road, have made Lokoja more beautiful.
With the streetlights installed, nightlife has returned to those places. Also, the Egbe Township roads have been fully rehabilitated or reconstructed as the case may be. Work is ongoing at Mopa and other places across the state.
In the area of education, he has brought bursaries back fully and has also made education free up to the Secondary School level, including free internal and external examinations.
He has also stepped up infrastructure at the various higher institutions across the state, as well as infrastructure aimed at boosting school security.
Massive infrastructural projects are on-going at the Prince Abubakar Audu Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, as the school has commenced MBBS at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, with the former Reference Hospital, Okene, now the Confluence University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, Okene.
His intention is to mould doctors who will be patriotic enough to serve the state and the nation. Workers’ welfare has never been this good. And in the area of security, the governor is sparing no effort to make the state safe for the people and for investment. Agriculture has been the bedrock of his administration’s policy.
His deliberate policies of boosting the capacity of farmers have helped to reduce food inflation in the state. More Kogites now pay taxes as they can see what the government is doing with their taxes. We’re doing well over N3 billion every month without increasing taxes.
It means many who were not paying before are now paying. You can also see that there’s political stability in the state. The governor’s disposition to peace and engagement is silently killing the opposition.
Political tension has drastically reduced in the state. I can go on and on. By and large, His Excellency Usman Ododo is already surpassing people’s expectations, and he’s doing more.
With all the solid minerals that Kogi State has, I want to ask you, are investors really finding the state attractive to bring in their investments?
Very well. Investors around the world are finding the state very attractive. One of the earliest focuses of the Ododo was how the state can benefit maximally from its rich mineral deposits.
The state government is currently working on documents that will put the state on the solid minerals map of the world and that will also guide investors in investing in the state. In the last couple of months, the Chief Servant of Kogi State has led powerful delegations to Qatar and China to assure investors that Kogi State is ready.
The State Government has also registered companies that can take part in solid minerals exploration. Our investment portfolio is rising, and in no distant time, more investors will come into the State.
What we frown at is illegal mining. Illegal mining is not only exploitative, but it’s also a security threat. Let me commend the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals for the initiative to float Mines Marshals to checkmate illegal mining.
We’re ready to cooperate with federal authorities to make Kogi benefit from the large deposits of minerals in the state. Our tax and land administration are some of the best in this country.
In one of your interviews, you said that the Kogi State government has done very well to boost its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Can you elaborate on that?
One of the most difficult things to do is to collect revenue. Naturally, people don’t like to pay taxes. But we’re growing our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state to match our ambition. The Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, Alh. Sule Salihu Enehe is an outstanding tax administrator who is doing us proud.
We have also automated our tax administration, blocking leakages and fraud. This has helped us to scale N3 billion a month. That is not our destination. Our destination is to make Kogi less reliant on federal allocations. We urge our people to cooperate with tax administrators. We’re determined to ensure that every dime of their taxes works for them.
With the upsurge in insecurity in the North East and North West, with Kogi State being bordered by some of the states in these regions, what is the state government doing to ensure that terrorists who are operating in those areas don’t find the state a safe haven?
The push back from the North East and North West is putting a serious heat on the North Central. Kogi borders ten other states and the FCT. So we’re so strategic in the fight against criminality.
The Governor has applied a bottom-to-top approach where communities play a lot of roles in gathering intelligence as well as building the first lines of defence in case of any attack. Our hunters and local vigilante service are doing very well to support the conventional security agencies, who are also doing very well. Are we having some challenges?
Yes, like others. Are we overwhelmed? Not at all, as we’re doing everything to make our point known through our actions and strategies that Kogi doesn’t welcome criminality. Are we making progress? Very well. The Chief Servant of Kogi State is sparing no resources to ensure Kogi is safe.
We thank all security agencies, our traditional rulers and all the key stakeholders who are working tirelessly to ensure Kogi is safe. We are winning the battle.
Governor Usman Ododo has been credited with peace moves, uniting Kogi people across party, ethnic and religious lines, is that the reason for the romance between Leke Abejide, the lawmaker representing Yagba constituency in the House of Representatives on the platform of Action Democratic Congress (ADC), and members of APC in Kogi State, because some people have alleged that the lawmaker may just be preparing his way to defecting to the ruling party which of course is trending across the country?
He started it even before his election. I remember he called me one day while we were consulting for his election, and that we were going to visit a man. I told him the man was a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He asked me if the man is a Kogite. I said yes. He said he was aspiring to be the Governor of Kogi State. From that day, it was very clear that he was coming to bridge divides and bring everyone to the table to dialogue on the development of Kogi State.
He disarmed even his opponents with his disposition to peace and engagement. He’s ready to dialogue with anyone. He’s ready to bring everyone into the Kogi project. That is why you see that the opposition is dying in the state.
The majority of the people of Kogi State are very happy with the Governor. The Governor is relating to everyone, including Rt Hon. Leke Abejide. No Governor will ignore a big factor, a performer and a lover of his people like Elder Leke Abejide.
The Member Representing Yagba Federal Constituency has proven over and over again that he’s a fantastic representative of his people. I’m from his Federal Constituency, and I’m one of the people clamouring for his defection to the All Progressives Congress.
ADC is too small for his status, and the majority of us are already telling him to come back to the progressives’ family. When you look at his projects and programmes, you’ll discover that he’s a progressive at heart.
He should not stay a week longer in ADC. We want him to defect to our party, and we’ll also go round the 34 wards of the Federal Constituency to campaign for his continuity. We have no problem with those playing the politics of rotation. It’ll rotate at the right time. They have the right to clamour for rotation.
But the majority of his constituents want him to continue beyond 2027, and we’re ready to give him all the necessary support. There’s no vacancy yet. When there’s a vacancy, we’ll let those eyeing the seat know.
For now, it’s Leke Abejide beyond 2027. We want him to continue his good work and also get more relevance in the House in order to continue to develop our Federal Constituency. A ranked member will benefit us more than a new member.
After his 3rd term, we’ll tell him to step down; by then, the new person will benefit from the recognition Leke Abejide would have given to Yagba Federal Constituency.
We’re in touch with him, and we can assure all our people in Yagba that the big fish is on his way to the largest political party in Africa.
