By Abbas Yahaya
Your Excellency, I want to commend you for the unparalleled infrastructural projects, especially in the area of road construction both in urban and rural areas which you have bequeathed on Kogi State not to mention other roads that are still under rehabilitation like the Kewon road. The reading public, inhabitants of Kogi State as well as visitors to the state can testify without fear or favour the good work you are doing.
Lokoja metropolis today have roads expanded as a result of the fly-over built with pedestrian walkways, drainage systems, street lights and powered by Solar-energy lights, all thanks to the development oriented personality of the man at the helm of affairs in Kogi His Excellency, Gov Yahaya Adoza Bello
This writer, having spent over three decades in the state has witnessed different administrations especially from 1999 to date and therefore felt the need to write and commend the sudden change and focus on Urban Renewal ongoing in Kogi State.
Other areas His Excellency, Gov Yahaya Bello led administration is positively giving uncommon facelift to include; renovation of dilapidated school structures, reconstruction and upgrading of existing hospitals across the state, building of new cottage hospitals in Local Government areas where there was none, ongoing recruitment of teachers for secondary schools and an additional Community Health Workers for the Primary Health Care Agency of the State to increase and complement the inadequate number of manpower in the education and primary health care sector.
These deeds among others not mentioned herein have in no mean measure, endeared many to His Excellency, Gov Yahaya Bello the Executive Governor of Kogi State. It is left for doubting Thomas’s to verify the above position by visiting kogi State. The truth is the governor has written his name on the sands of time and very boldly too. Hence there’s no doubt that he will be leaving the state at the end of his tenure far better than he met it.
Having said these, His Excellency Sir, I wish to state clearly that I am writing this letter to you as a concerned citizen and the content therein are my thoughts and concern and does not represent any group or community, much more as a stakeholder of the current APC led administration, I felt an open letter is the easiest way my thoughts can get to you since protocol and bureaucracy may not give me easy access to you.
The main objective of my letter to you is to draw your attention to the Kabawa Sardauna Junction Road to Anguwan-kura road in Lokoja Local Government Area. To be fair to you sir, the entire people of Lokoja are happy with your administration for being the first Governor to match words with action since the return to democracy in 1999 to hit the ground running with unprecedented projects, which has earned you the secret name PROJECT MASTER. Apart from lip service, no Governor has dared to mobilize contractors to site quickly within Lokoja for any kind of transformational project except His Excellency, Gov Yahaya Bello who has started doing this immediately after his second term inauguration as the Executive Governor of kogi State.
Sir, not until when you approved the construction and rehabilitation of trunck B and Trunk C roads in Lokoja covering some kilometers, the people of this community have almost given up. The project under construction which is being carried out by TECH Limited is moving at a snail speed compare to other sister projects awarded and flagged off within the same period under review. Even though virtually all the box culverts and critical drainages have been constructed, the roads in its current stage if not properly filled with laterites will constitute great threat to movements of goods and services throughout the wet season, which thus far has become the major source of hullabaloo and unnecessary bickering by our people. An act that has been set to ease life, is fast becoming a threat not only for the smooth movement of goods and services but has also created an avenue to some ingrates within and outside the community, who are using it to cast aspersion on the action Governor, inferring that nothing will be done beyond what is on site.
It is important therefore, to draw the attention of His Excellency to the plight of the good people of Kabawa-Anguwan Kura road who feel that the project under review has been abandoned and not been treated with the same speed of concern as other sister road projects in Lokoja metropolitan. They have continued to wonder what their offence is, that the project is not receiving the same attention as all the projects approved. They view it as ironical whereby other roads have been constructed by the state government within a record time or less but our road seem to be overlooked by the government they overwhelmingly cast their votes for in 2019 and are ready to even do more in 2023.
I earnestly appeal to the His Excellency, the PROJECT MASTER at the helm of affairs in Kogi State to expedite action to complete the Kabawa-Anguwan Road. If you can do a wonderful and magnificent work in Adankolo-Federal University Lokoja road within few days, I am very optimistic that once your attention turns to Kabawa-Anguwan road, it will be done within a twinkle of an eye considering the enormous task already done on the drainages and culverts.
As you remember Lokoja metropolitan town roads projects among others, may God continue to endow you with the needed wisdom to affect positively the lives of the good people of Kogi state, so that by the time you leave the government house in 2024 you would have left your footprint in the sand of time and thus be remembered by posterity.
Accept the assurances of my esteemed highest regards.
Abbas Yahaya
Writes from Kabawa
Gmail: abbasyahaya8@gmail.com