… Says He’s Passionate About Modeling The Way, Inspiring A Shared Vision For Kogi of Our Dreams.
Dr. Sanusi Ohiare (DSO) former Executive Director Executive Director at the Rural Electrification Agency
has formally declared to contest for the office of the Governor of Kogi State.
Making the declaration at the APC Secretariat, after picking his intent and nomination form, Dr. Sanusi says he is inspired by the tremendous progress made under the dexterous leadership of H.E. Yahaya Adoza Bello, who became governor of Kogi at the age of 40, widely opened the doors for youth and women emancipation in politics and governance over the last 7 years.
He said he wants to build a generation that will reshape Kogi to compete favourably, through digital innovation, amongst the committee of states in Nigeria.
He further added called for collective working together to help sustain and build on the legacy of Governor Yahaya Bello in Education, Healthcare, infrastructure and security.
” Let us create the enabling environment for Kogi to attract huge investments like we did at the Rural Electrification Agency.
” Let us partner with the private sector and welcome them to Kogi, to help us create jobs with better pay for our youths.
” Let us make education more affordable and skill acquisition readily available for our youths.
” Let us partner with the Federal Government to build an inland port in Lokoja build rain lines connecting the North, build an airport, rehabilitate more roads and build newer ones, and effectively, make Kogi the Logistics hub of this nation”.
Dr. Sanusi disclosed that his aspiration is geared towards democratizing prosperity, by creating an environment where hardwork and innovation is rewarded, where indolence and rent seeking has no place.
Under his Leadership as Governor, Dr. Sanusi promised that all hands will be on deck to help build a generation that ends poverty in the State.
His desires he added is to build a generation that puts Kogi on the map for clean, renewable energy and alternative fuels, turn the State’s perennial flooding and other associated global warming crisis into an opportunity for innovation, tourism, job creation, and an incentive for businesses.
While calling on all hands to join, rise up to the occasion and Vote for him as Governor of Kogi State to enable him lead the transformational leadership for the next generation, assured that together, he would make future generations proud of all that would be achieved.
Dr. Sanusi gave gratitude to God Almighty for His grace and Mercies all along, and to his Parents Senator Mohammed Ohiare and Hajiya Aminat Ohiare, who are present, his beautiful wife Rihanat for her unwavering love and patience; and his entire family for being a strong pillar of support all through his life.
He thanked Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello for his love, studied economics at his undergraduate, holds a Masters in Energy Finance and obtaining a PhD in rural energy development at the age of 29.
Dr. Sanusi resigned his job on Friday 17th February 2023 to pick up the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms of the APC, to vie for the April 10th 2023 Governorship Primary Election of the Confluence State of Kogi.
The former Executive Director thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing him for the first five years in March 2017 and reappointing him again in January 2022 for the very important role, which he said has afforded him the opportunity of tremendous personal, professional and political growth.
He equally appreciated Dr. Babatunde Raji Fashola for all he has done and continued
to do in his life, also thanked the current Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, Minister of state for Power, Prince Goddy Jeddy Agba, his friend and brother the Managing Director of REA Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, his colleagues Engr. Barka Sajou and Chief Olaniyi Netufo and all the board members, staff and friends of the Rural electrification Agency where I served for the last 6 years.
The former Executive Director thanked the youth wing of the Progressive Forum who have travelled from various states across the federation to accompany him in submitting his expression of interest and nomination forms, says he is humbled by their show of support, endorsement and for embarking on the journey with him, appreciated them for their belief in the promise that this great country holds, expressed optimism that with all of the myriad of challenges the Country face today.
He noted that with their believe there can be hope over pockets of insecurity across segments of the nation today, for peace even with the biting economy especially with the advent of cashless policy, says there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Amidst all the noise and divisive tendencies in the nation’s politics along the lines of religion and tribe, Dr. Sanusi says the believe in the oneness of Nigeria, working hard and bridging various divides and fault lines by the youths remains inspiring, expressed optimism of assured prosperity.
Born in Abuja on the 6th of March 1985 (37 years). Dr. Sanusi says his father was a civil servant then, who later resigned, started a business in construction and later joined politics.
His mother he disclosed was a student who worked hard to gain higher education and raised him and his siblings while in school and later became a civil servant also in Abuja.
With a very strict upbringing, his parents, Dr. Sanusi explained instilled the salient values of hardwork, honesty, patriotism, humility, service to humanity, fear of God and compassion in him, values he added has guided his affairs in life till date.
As far back as Junior Secondary school, Dr. Sanusi said he aspired and dreamt of gaining a doctorate degree before age 30, and also dreamt of joining politics and serving his community and fatherland in his thirties thereby inspiring a visionary leadership for the next generation and bequeathing a legacy of infrastructural development and economic prosperity across rural communities in Nigeria.
His curiosity and dissatisfaction in the status quo of the country, especially in the power sector and the economy, and his single motivation in the course of his journey, especially having helped develop the right policies, plans and regulations for government, became imperative to be part of its implementation on the other side. This was how he disclosed he got appointed as an Executive Director at the rural electrification Agency, at the age of 32, the youngest appointee of Mr President then.
Fresh out of University, Dr. Sanusi said he had the opportunity of working for a top tier government agency in Nigeria, but deliberately choose instead, to develop himself and seek solutions to solving the rural electrification challenges of the country, by accepting a job offer with an international development agency that was focused on supporting the Nigerian government develop policies, regulations and generate data on rural electrification.
” My work took me to the most rural and neglected communities of the country. I saw first-hand the impact of lack of electricity in extremely rural communities, how it affected every aspect of their lives, and can be traced to the inactions of politicians at various levels. I also saw how the lack of appropriate government policies, regulations, data models and plans hampered prioritization of renewable energy and rural electrification in the country”.
” It was at REA, as the pioneer Executive Director of a hitherto comatose fund the Rural Electrification Fund, that I got the opportunity through creating enabling programmes, and appropriate business models and guidelines, and working collaboratively with various stakeholders, attract funds from private sector, international development agencies and other commercial banks, raised over $600 million for various electrification programmes for project implementation in rural Nigeria”.
” However, none of these would have been possible if I didnt dare to dream, and if God did not use an enigma and a colossus in the person of Yahaya Adoza Bello, to inspire every Nigerian youth to be courageous and take the bull by the horns, and make hay while the sun shines”.
” Under Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Kogi state has inched closer to a more perfect union, given the prevalence of ethnic divides before he assumed office in 2016; which is evidenced in the current dimension of the Kogi race for governorship, where voters are no longer considering your ethnicity or religion, but researching on your person, character, antecedents and capacity to deliver”.
” Kogi has also witnessed relative peace, stability and massive infrastructural development in the areas of Education, Health, Roads, Bridges and Power, to mention a few, under our amiable leader, Alhaji Yahaya Bello”.
” Therefore, the challenge before us is how to sustain and build on the great works of his Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and who is best equipped to succeed him”, says it is time for his generation to answer that call yet again to offer quality leadership.