SPEAKING POINTS FOR HIS EXCELLENCYon Good Governance tour8Nov2013.

1.

​On behalf of the Government and good people of Kogi State, let me begin by welcoming you and your Team, The Good Governance Inspection Teamto the Confluence State. The State is a confluence of resources and we pride ourselves as having anabundance of all types of resources, which, of course, gives room for a myriad of opportunities for all and sundry. It may interest you to note that Kogi State has the largest deposit of Gold, limestone, Iron-ore and the finest grade of clean coal in Nigeria.

2.

​I am pleased that this Good Governance visit has finally eventuated after several postponements on both sides, due to some just cause.

3.

​Given what has been accomplished so far during the visit by your team in collaboration with our State team, the wait has been well worth it. The planning is top notch, and the implementation could not have been better. I understand the Team did not get back until 9:30pm last night inspecting some of the projects, even at night fall.  I commend the effort of the Team for their commitment and resilience.

4.

​The Good Governance visit, undertaken to show-case the  various development projects of both the Federal Government and the State Government, could not have come at a better time when the electorate have duly being asking pertinent questions.

Of course, in a democracy, it is right for the people to inquire and to follow very keenly the progress of government in the emancipation of the people through projects, both infrastructural and otherwise, as had been made as part of our election promises.

5.

​I am exceedingly pleased that the Federal Ministry of Information, under your able Leadership, has organised this Good Governance visit round the country. I am informed that you have so far visited 20 states, and now you are in Kogi.

6.

​Kogi State, which is 22 years old, with about 3.6 million inhabitants in 21 local governments, is strategic, unique and significant to Nigeria. As you may be aware, we are surrounded by 9 states and the FCT, we have the confluence of the two major rivers in West Africa ((River Niger and River Benue),thousands of people pass through our state from the 23 states of the country using Kogi as gate way between the north and the south.

7.

​Talking about gateway between the North and the South of Nigeria evokes the memory of the colonial government in Nigeria and the very essence of our celebration of the centenary anniversary of our great country, Nigeria coming into being. As the whole world is aware, Kogi State and Lokoja in particular, is the historical focal point in the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates of Nigeria on January 1, 1914. Lord Lugard, the first Governor-General of Nigeria, had his Rest House on top of Mount Patti in Lokoja, and had his office on the grounds of this Government house, next door to the building we are meeting inright now.

8.

​Indeed, it was Lady Flora Shaw, the wife of Lord Lugard, who named Nigeria  in 1897 from the top of Mount Patti on a beautiful morning she woke up to behold the majestic Niger and her surroundings.

Lokoja was the first headquarters of the Nigerian Army, having evolved from the Royal Constabulary. The first bank by the colonial government was in Lokoja and the first safe is preserved as one of the many historical monuments of the colonial rule and the amalgamation. Since you will take some time off to inspect some of the monuments, I will leave you toenjoy and follow the trail of history as contained in Lokoja. This is what we enjoy everyday but we do not take them for granted, because they serve as the heart and soul of our modern day Nigeria.

9.

  A total of 35 projects have been selected out of several projects completed or being executed by both the Federal and Kogi State governments in our State for inspection during the Good Governance Tour. They cover a cross-section of projects traversing infrastructure, economy, education, health, social and other developments.

10.

As your Team has visibly noticed and commented upon, our projects in Kogi have been carefully undertaken to effectively key into the Transformation Agenda of Mr President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. Our Transformation Agenda in Kogi State is in line with the Federal agenda and has four cardinal focal priorities of: Good Governance,Capacity Development in Education and Health,Agriculture and Infrastructure.  All these have been deliberately planned to follow and implement the Blue Print and Plan of Action drawn up by theThink Tank my Administration set up at inception.

11.

We are proud to inform you, and as has been ascertained by the Good Governance Team during their inspections in the past two days, that none of our projects are a make-shift belief to deceive the public or hastily put in place to divert anybody’s attention or score cheap publicity stunts.

12.

Excellent development in the interest of the people requires excellent and painstaking planning. With all glory to God for what we have been able to accomplish in our 20 months in office, we have intentionally decided not to make noise but to allow the projects to speak for themselves.

13.

As in evident in some of the projects already inspected, we have also embarked upon the principle of continuity to complete all on-going projects inherited from my predecessor.  These include the Confluence Stadium, Phase II of the Secretariat Complex and the Confluence Beach Hotel.

14.

My administration has also implemented the   Youth Empowerment Programme to create jobs for, and creatively engage all our Youth who daily roam the streets for employment opportunities.  

The YAD4KOGI Programme has todate trained about 4,000 youths in various enterpreneural skills that engage all of them and make them potentially able to also employ labour.

15.

In addition, Kogi State in recent times, is witnessing an influx of foreign and domestic investors due to the enabling environment we have created and installed as fundamental to socio-economic transformation of Kogi State.

16.

Let me single out our Agricultural Transformation Agenda that underscores my belief in the use of agriculture to transform the state, provide thousands of employment and create wealth for our people. Your Team has visited and seen our value chaininvestments in rice, soya bean and cassava at ourStaple Crop Processing Zone at Alape.

We are sowing for generations to come and to ensure that Kogi and Nigeria can feed our teeming population without spending billions of foreign exchange to import food. Very soon when our efforts begin to yield fruitful dividends, the die-hard critics and cynics of our administration will recoil into their shell in nail-biting dispositions.

17.

Let me use this opportunity to thank the Federal Government of Nigeria and Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for siting many federal projects in Kogi state and ensuring that they are funded and supervised to ensure completion as scheduled. The Good Governance Team has already inspected the road construction projects of Abuja-Lokoja and Lokoja-Benin through Okene, the Jamata port project, the Naval port, and several other Kogi projects, some of which have input and support from Federal parastatals.

18.

Our collaboration is a show-piece to authenticate that the partnership between the Federal and State Government in Kogi is working, and working very well.

19.

As I conclude my speech this morning, I need to specifically lay emphasis on the special undertakings by my administration to ensure that Good governance is entrenched. In order to ensure sustainability and continuation of our good governance projects, my Administration has placed great premium on enabling laws, setting up administrative structures including Public Procurement laws, Fiscal Responsibility laws, and Public Sector Governance projects as the softwareto manage all the hardware/infrastructural development in the state.

20.

We shall in a few minutes set out again for the last day of the Good Governance Tour of some projects laid out for today.

I am hoping that all the activities of the past few days, in addition to that of today, will set the scene for a successful Town Hall meeting, with all sectors of the society tomorrow, at the Glass House. Every one has been invited and we shall,at that point, expatiate and explicate on many of the projects we have undertaken in Kogi State for the social and economic benefits of the good people of our dear State.

21.

Thank you and wishing you a wonderful and exciting stay in Kogi State.