By joshua 
Gov. Ododo: Pathfinder of true Kogi leadership
By Chris Ben-Kato Senior Special Assistant on information and communication strategy
The well being of the people is much dependent on its leadership. Where astute leadership is missing the people tend to suffer misery. For the people of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has continued to make the welfare of the people of Kogi State his top priority.
It is on record that His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo on assumption of office on January 27, 2024 placed the development of the state as his first agenda. In the last two years the governor has carried out series of developmental strides in the state. The result of the governor’s effective leadership is seen and it cut across the twenty one Local Government Areas of the state.
Lets understand this analogy very well. If one civil servant is paid his or her salaries as at when due there is every tendency that five to seven of his or relations stand to benefit. This of course is the core value Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo placed on the welfare of civil servants at the local and state levels in the state.
The prompt payment of salaries to the state workforce has to a very large extent reduce the poverty level in the state. This is so as immediate dependents of each civil servant in the state stand to gain from the monies paid to civil servants in the state.
In over ten years civil servants at both the state and Local Government levels have never received their legitimate yearly leave allowances. This allowances are almost equivalent the monthly salaries of workers. In his usual love for the civil servants, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo paid the leave allowances of all the workers in the state. The allowances has gone a long way in meeting some great needs of the workers of the state.
In the education sector, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has continued to pay the West Africa School Certificate Examination (WAEC) fees for all the students in public schools yearly. Children of the poor in the state no longer have to struggle to write their WAEC examination as the Ododo administration has always kept to its promises of paying the yearly WAEC fees.
On peace in the state, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has never rested on his oars in pursuing the criminals out of the corridors of the state. Only recently, the state security architecture intercepted a large cache of arms from criminals trying to infiltrate the state. The seizure was a dead blow on the activities of the criminal elements. It may not be totally Uhuru yet but the governor has continued to invest resources and logistics to the security agencies all in a bid to rid the state from criminal elements.
During festive seasons – Christmas and Sallah festivals, the governor has always released assorted food items which are often distributed to all the twenty one Local Government Areas of the state. This positive intervention has always relieved the people of the state from high spending resulting in peaceful celebrations of all religious festivals in the state.
On the political scene, Kogi State is very peaceful. There has been no cases of political rivalry in the state. All the political gladiators in the state have continued to receive the needed acceptance and support from the Ododo led-administration in the state. This indeed has accounted for the peaceful disposition of the state across the twenty one Local Government Area of the state.
Since assumption of office on January 27, 2024 His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has freely visited all the three Senatorial districts where he was always received with mammoth crowd. The unprecedented number of the electorates who often receive the governor at the grassroot is a clear testimony of acceptance of his administration by the entire Kogi electorates.
It is also worthy to note here that the governor’s good administration in the state has led to big political heavy weights flooding the All Progressives Congress APC in the state. Recently former governor Idris Ichalla Wada formerly of PDP, former Social Democratic Party SDP deputy governorship candidate, Hon Sam Abenemi, former Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly Umar Imam and a host of other politicians in the state decamp to the ruling APC in the state. This is by no means a mean achievement as far as the political terrain in the state is concern .
In all, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has continued to positively shape the state for its speedy development. He is not just the accepted good leader of the state but is widely known today as the true Pathfinder for the accelerated development of Kogi State.
FOR HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI AHMED USMAN ODODO, ONE GOOD TERM DESERVES ANOTHER
LET US ALL FOLLOW THE LEADER WHO UNDERSTAND THE RIGHT PATH TO KOGI’S DEVELOPMENT.
Hon. Chris Ben-Kato is the Senior Special Assistant on information and communication strategy to His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo