Signposts of Transformation in Kogi State

The administration of Capt. Idris Wada of Kogi State came into office on the 27th of January, 2012.  On assumption of office three years ago, the Governor inherited several projects at various stages of completion.  Despite initial challenges faced by his government, Capt. Idris Wada hit the ground running by completing most of the on-going projects while initiating new ones, many of which have been completed.

In a state broadcast to mark the third anniversary of the administration, Governor Wada stated that 'the present administration has invested greater chunk of the State’s resources in building critical infrastructure and in the transformation of all sectors of the State's economy for the benefit of our people'.
In a statement by Hajiya Zainab Suleiman Okino, Kogi State Commissioner for Information said "the last three years of Capt. Idris Wada have witnessed deliberate emphasis on probity and accountability, elimination of corruption and complete value re- orientation in an inclusive government that has made good governance a priority.

She also said the State Government under Capt. Idris Wada has made appreciable progress in agriculture, infrastructure, rural transformation, commerce and industry, youth and women empowerment as well as human capital development.

Among the many visible signposts of transformation in Kogi State is the increase in the number of roads so far constructed or rehabilitated by the present administration. According to Engr. Godwin Onama,  the Commissioner for Works in the State, "the administration of Capt. Idris Wada has undertaken the construction of 58 road projects across the State. Some of the road projects include the Kabba, Okene and Ankpa Township Roads; the Lokoja, Felele, Anyigba Township roads as well as roads linking several towns and villages across the state".

These road networks across communities in the state, Onama noted 'are helping to provide improved access to urban markets and enabling better social interaction among our people.'
The administration of Capt. Idris Wada has given a leap to communities through the massive rural transformation agenda of the state government. In the last three years, the government has embarked on a comprehensive programme aimed at eradicating rural poverty and making life more meaningful for the people. Integrating development in agriculture and natural resources with the rural transformation agenda has led to improvement in basic amenities in rural areas with corresponding lift in the living standard of the people.    

In an interactive session with stakeholders in the agricultural sector, Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Zaccheaus Atte, said Kogi State is the Number One Cassava Producing state in Nigeria. Mr. Atte noted that remarkable gains recorded in rice and cassava production which culminated in the establishment of Cassava and Rice Processing zones in different parts of the state were as a result of the commitment of the state government under Capt. Idris Wada to position Kogi State as a major hub for agriculture and related industries in Nigeria. This he said also explains why the Federal Government and a number of private investors are collaborating with Kogi State in the establishment of Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) for Rice and Cassava in the Sate.

The multiplier effect of the integrated approach to the eradication of rural poverty has created over 4,000 jobs for youths and over 3,500 fishermen/fish farmers in the state. The administration has also undertaken the construction and resuscitation of over 32 Water Schemes in different parts of the state, Drilling of 22 Motorized and Solar-powered Boreholes.

In the face of threat from nature, Capt. Idris Wada completed a massive embankment to protect the Multi-Billion Naira Greater Lokoja Water Supply Scheme after it was submerged by flood waters in 2012. Contract for the metering of water supply from the Greater Lokoja Water Project has been awarded. And this is intended to become a major source of revenue for the state in the coming year.

Realizing the importance of manpower development, the state government  has made massive investment in education to make public schools better and more competitive. Recent investments in education by the government include the construction of 2 Hostel Blocks at the Kogi State University, Anyigba and another 2 Hostel Blocks at the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja; rehabilitation of 3 Blocks of Classrooms, Examination Halls and Administrative Blocks in St. Charles College Ankpa, Government Secondary Schools, Dekina, Holy Rosary College Idah,  AbdulAziz, Attah Memorial College Okene and St, Augustine College, Kabba.

The government has restated its commitment to the payment of WAEC fees of final year students in all Secondary Schools in the State. All the Forty-two Thousand, Five hundred and Fifty-Eight candidates who sat for the May/June, 2014 SSCE were all registered and paid for by the State Government. In a statement by the Commissioner for Education, Dr (Mrs.) Agnes Okai, the state government is said to be addressing some anomalies noted in the figures provided by some administrators of the scheme and has therefore directed 'that all parents should keep receipts of registration for their wards and present same at the nearest office of Education Secretaries in their area for immediate reimbursement in respect of the payment of the WAEC fees of students in 2015'. She maintained that the government has NO plan to suspend the payment of WAEC fees for all students in the state.

The health sector has enjoyed a fair share of the transformation in the state through the provision of new healthcare facilities and upgrading of new ones across different tiers of the sector. Some of the projects so far executed include the on-going construction of the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, construction of a General Hospital at Odu-Ogboyaga, construction of General Hospital, Icheke, completion of primary Health Centre at Umomi, construction of Hostel Block, ICT Centre, and Administrative Block at the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Obangede, and the construction of Kogi State Diagnostic Centre, Lokoja. Others are the renovation of FAREC clinic Lokoja, Workers' Village Clinic, Lokoja and the General Hospital Okene.

 In the information sector, the state government has resuscitated the Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation with the acquisition and installation of new booster stations in Egbe, Otite and Ochaja. There has also been improvement in manpower development and professionalization of all agencies under the ministry of information to reposition them for greater efficiency.   

In a bid to make the state more attractive for tourists, the state government has commenced resuscitation and upgrading of government-owned hotels in state. The Confluence Carnival, now in its second year, is attracting more attention and the government has commenced development of all  tourism potentials in the state. A Memorandum of Understanding for a  Public Private Partnership to develop Mount Patti in Lokoja as a world class tourism centre has been signed between the government and a foreign company. The government has also improved road transportation system with the commissioning of fleets of Kogi Intra-city Buses to complement  tourism development initiatives in the state.

Looking at the giant strides recorded by the administration in the last three years, it is no exaggeration to say that Wada's Kogi State has become a signpost of stability, good governance and progress.