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.