By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja
The first 100 days in office of the 5th Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo was not only eventful but impactful. The Governor was sworn into office on January 27, 2024, taking over from his predecessor, former Governor Yahaya Bello, who spent 8 years in office.
After his swearing by the Chief Judge of Kogi state, Justice Josiah Joe Majebi, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo never left anyone in doubt about his preparedness for the task ahead. Perhaps the announcement of the first set of appointees on his first day in office is not just testament to his level of preparation for the task ahead, but readiness to hit the ground running. The appointments ensured that there was no vacuum in governance contrary to what we had seen in some states where key appointments were delayed for up to a year.
According to information obtained from the office of the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Ismail Isah, the Governor was hosted to a grand reception in Okene by his kinsmen and well-wishers to demonstrate their love for him. There the governor declared his commitment to the people and vowed: “I will continue to be part of you in all circumstances.”
He quickly followed up by ensuring that the House of Assembly promptly screened the commissioner nominees and the swearing-in of new commissioners and senior aides to the governor was also done to ensure continuity in governance.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo wasted no time in quickly taking the challenges of his new office by participating in the meeting of Progressive Governors’ Forum in Abuja, being his first official outing outside the state. In his quest to tackle, headlong problem of food security in the state, he attended a joint meeting of the governors of Kogi, Ondo, Taraba with the Hon. Minister Of Agriculture & Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari. This has since yielded positive results, given the numerous palliatives that have been distributed across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The new Governor did not pretend over the immense security challenges faced by the state, because of its strategic location as the gateway to the North and South, bordering about nine states in Nigeria. The states are Benue, Nasarawa, Ondo, Ekiti, Niger, Edo, Enugu , Kwara and Abuja the Federal Capital. This prompted his meeting with the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to discuss security of lives and property of the people of Kogi state and travellers.
Ododo was proactive right from his early days: In April he launched the Metropolitan Quick Response to sustain the tempo in the fight against insecurity in Lokoja metropolis and other parts of the state. This was swiftly followed with the distribution of 105 operational vehicles and 42 motorcycles to vigilante services and other security agencies in the state for community policing.
In his quest to enhance and prioritise information dissemination to citizens, he designated the anterior of the Glass House as the Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo Media Centre to cater for journalists covering the government house. The installation of transformer At Radio Kogi Headquarters in Lokoja, provision of operational vehicles and solar power to ensure uninterrupted transmission at Radio Kogi in Lokoja was executed with determination to ensure that the people are kept abreast of programmes and activities of his administration.
With his belief that education is power, the governor has also taken some proactive steps to reposition the education sector for optimal service delivery. The first step taken to show his seriousness for the education sector, was the payment of external examination fees for all Kogi state students for WAEC and JAMB and the creation of a portal for application for payment of bursary to all students of Kogi State origin in higher institutions of learning across the country.
This was also followed by the payment of all outstanding fees to all student associations and youth organizations, in addition to the training of teachers in Kogi State public schools. Perhaps, the deployment of new set of teachers recruited by the Kogi State Government to schools across the state underscored his seriousness to ensure quality of teaching and learning in public schools in the state.
The governor had equally ensured the completion of internal roads at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara and the ongoing construction of 350 capacity male and female hostels at CUSTECH, Osara to ease the acute accommodation problem in the ivory tower.
This was also followed with the inspection of key legacy projects at Kogi State University (KSU) Kabba, CUSTECH) Osara, Obangede-Okaito-lhima Rood and GYB Model Science Secondary School in Ogaminana.
To ensure food security and self-sufficiency in food production in the state, Governor Ododo designated and cleared over 8000 hectares of farmland for the new farming season and conducted a census of genuine farmers in the state to determine farmers to benefit from government subsidies and interventions to enhance food production in the state.
The Governor also directed the classification of agric into sectors for different crop production and created strategic silos to store farm produce across the state. To reclaim lands and ensure safe environment, he awarded a contract for erosion control in Ankpa, Okene, Ijumu Worth 29.9 billion Naira.
Committed to sign up as the single largest off taker of agricultural produce from farmer, aggressive clearance of drainages in preparation for potential flooding during the rainy season, payment of 100 percent to pensioners in local government service in the state and improved salaries to local government workers have all stood Ododo out.
The state under Ododo also recovered over 200 tractors to be refurbished and distributed to farmers across the state. Others are commencement of health insurance scheme capturing over 30,000 workers in the state with three months advance payment. With the flag-off of free health insurance scheme for the vulnerable and LWD, it’s hoped that the governor will take the state to the zenith of its development and maintain it as state of confluence of opportunities.