Kogi Guber: I’ll Perform Better In Second Term If Given – Yahaya Bello
Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has promised to improve upon his present performance if given another term to serve the state as governor.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State Governor, says his administration has made the state safer even though he inherited a chaotic security apparatus. The governor said that both citizens, residents, travelers, investors, and tourists in the State have continued to enjoy peace under his administration.
The governor says his claims are hinged on verifiable national data coming out of credible institutions. The governor said this at the University of Abuja on Wednesday, during a Two-day colloquium organised by The Sultan Maccido Institute for Peace, Leadership and Developments Studies (SMIPLDS) where he featured as a keynote speaker on issues bothering curbing insurgency and insecurity in the country.
Bello who was represented by Navy Commander Jerry Omodara, his State Security Adviser said Kogi state before he came on board had suffered insecurity, due to sheer laxity, corruption, and non-commitment of resources over the years.
He said nothing was put on the ground to secure infrastructure and manpower in the State as the security agencies found themselves trailing the highly mobile and logistically superior criminal franchise. Bell noted that killing, bank robberies, jailbreak by Boko Haram insurgents, attack of offices of security agencies, kidnapping and other forms of criminality categorized the previous government and there was no political will and opacity in the use of security votes.
The Governor also added that Kogi under the previous administration suffered the most terrifying periods of extended and unrelenting insecurity the state has ever witnessed since inception. Since he came to power, Bello said the state which was initially bedeviled with all these criminal vices, in April 2018, ranked as the 2nd most peaceful state in the country after Osun and the most peaceful in the North of Nigeria by the Nigerian Peace Index. The State was also ranked as the State with the second lowest crime statistics in the country after Kebbi by the National Bureau of Statistics, he noted
Bello, who made the promise on Thursday in Lokoja during a stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress ( APC), also appealed to the people of the state not to lose hope in his administration.
According to him, the recent reconciliation of the two factions of the party in the state is also a pointer to a better tomorrow for the state.
Bello said his outstanding achievement was in the area of security where he said he was able to banish armed robbery, kidnapping and thuggery from the state.
“I confronted these ugly incidents headlong, and today the story has changed.
” We were able to institute infrastructure and integration of people into the administration that has been operating without sentiment.
He called on party members to remain committed and dedicated to its ideals, saying that this was the only way for it to emerge victorious in the coming governorship election.
Two serving governors and a former governor attended the meeting where party members reiterated their preference for indirect primary to pick a candidate for the Nov. 16 governorship polls.
The two serving governors in attendance were Alhaji Bagudu Atiku of Kebbi state and Alhaji Mala Bunni of Yobe State.
The immediate past governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, was also present.
Speaking in behalf of the visitors, Bagudu, who is also the Chairman of APC governors forum, commended members for their efforts which made President Muhammadu Buhari to win the presidential election in the state by a wide margin.
He urged them to sustain their passion and love for the party, saying that they should ensure the victory of the party’s candidate in the Nov. 16 governorship election holding in the state.
” Gov. Yahaya Bello is a dynamic leader that the party is ever proud of.
“He remains a gift of Providence that should be supported all the time ,” Bagudu said.
The APC state Chairman, Alhaji Abdullai Bello, said that the party performed a rare feat in the last general elections when it won all the 25 seats in the state assembly.