joshuaMinimum wage: Ododo the welfarist governor shines among his colleagues
By Chris Ben-Kato, Senior Special Assistant on Information and communication
Power and the will. These are the two ingredients which makes a whole difference in the lives of leaders the world over.
People strive for leadership for different reasons. Some strive to acquire power to oppress, some to make fame while to others it is to leave lasting legacies on the lives of the people.
For the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo who prefer to be simply known as the Chief Servant of the state, his quest for power can simply be summed up in his ever dieing desire to meet the needs of the people. It is therefore of no surprise that out of the many who sought to be the Chief Executive of Kogi State at the APC primary election, it was Governor Ododo Allah in his infinite mercies gave the opportunity.
At the November 2023 Kogi State governorship election, many contested on various political platforms yet Kogi State electorates made the choice of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo. After the election, litigations took the center stage but at the end Allah again in his infinite mercies vindicated the mandate given to Governor Ododo by the good people of Kogi State.
When His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo assumed office on January 27, 2024, he refused to tow the lane of some state chief executives who would have sought rest in foreign land after winning the election. He rather chooses to settle for governance headlong.
The very day he assumed office on January 27, 2024, he appointed his commissioners and some Aides. This is a clear testimony for a leader who knows his onions and who has a vision and had prepared for governance for the good people of the state.
Not quite long, he broke the jinx by stopping the percentage salaries payment of Local Government workers in the state. And whats more? His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo also ensured that all the salaries of workers in the state are promptly paid between 20th – 24th of every month. This indeed has stabilized the income of workers and brought greater joy to their jobs.
In the last nine months that His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo assumed office, he has given great attention to the welfare of all the civil servants in the state. As soon as the federal government and the organized labour agreed on the payment of a new minimum wage of #70,000, Governor Ododo immediately declared that his administration will be one of the first to pay the new minimum wage. Today the governor’s minimum wage is #72,500 which is higher than that of the federal government. Besides the governor has since paid Kogi State workers their new minimum wage. By this act, it is very apt to say that His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo was brought to power by Allah because Allah indeed knows his heart as a welfarist politician who is bound to wipe the tears of many.
In his love for the senior citizens of Kogi State, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo approved an upward review of the pensioners allowances with a monthly sum of #10,000 which cut across board. The governor also announced that pensioners earning below #50,000 per month will henceforth enjoy free health insurance for their medics. What a welfarist and people oriented governor.
On the whole the governor has not limited his leadership to workers alone. He has provided tractors, fertilizers and pesticides to all the farmers across the state. He has also given soft loans to small and medium entrepreneurs in the state.
The youths and women in the state have been offered various political appointments to enable them contribute their quota to the development of the state. As a matter of fact in the just concluded Local Government elections in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, gave women various opportunities to contest and clinch political positions in their various wards and Local Government Areas. Truth should be told, Kogi State is number one in the country in the number of women holding political positions. The people of Kogi State are happy with their God-fearing and welfarist governor – His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.
Without any iota of exaggeration, the Chief Servant of Kogi State, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo is today shining far ahead of his colleagues in the country. Thanks to the former governor of Kogi State, His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello who Allah used to give Kogi people the right governor who is today providing the right leadership for the good people of Kogi State.
May Allah in his infinite mercies continue to bless and guide His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo the Chief Servant of Kogi State
Hon. Chris Ben-Kato is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo on information and communication
