THE NATION FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2011
14
POLITICS
‘Jonathan, other governors should learn from ACN’
T
HE only sure path to Nigeria’s true gianthood is for every elected public office holder in the country to draw a cue from the people-oriented principles and programmes of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The above were the words of a chieftain of the party in Lagos, Hon. Kayode Omiyale, who was also an aspirant into the House of Representatives in the recently concluded elections. It was while speaking with The Nation on Monday. He expressed the view in his reflections on the polls and the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the state governors across the country which was held on Sunday amid pomp. Omiyale, a former education Secretary for Lagos Mainland admonished all the elected and sworn-in executives not to be carried away by the euphoria of their inauguration and settle down quickly for a serious governance business. “Of course, success is sweet and there is nothing bad in celebration it; what should be seen as paramount is how well the success is used in the interest of the voters, the owners of the mandate, who have been yearning for better days,” he said.
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• Omiyale By Musa Odoshimokhe
Speaking further, the politician specifically urged all the executives across the country to put their partisan predilections aside, study, internalize and actualise the peoplefriendly mode of administration of the ACN-controlled states in their domains. He stated: “If one casts one’s mind back to what happened to Lagos State
between 1999 and 2007 when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was in the saddle in the state, one cannot but see clearly, the visible evidence of genuine developmental democracy on all fronts. While others were making a mockery of governance in other states, he was busy feeding Lagos people with the fruits of democracy. After leaving the stage amid ovation, the current governor, Babatunde Fashola took over with the same spirit, without reversing the gear of all-round development of the state. “All over the country and even outside it, today, what is happening in the state has turned a reference point. This is why I believe that if all our governors and even President Jonathan should be patriotic and honest enough to learn from the two patriots and the party’s flag bearers in Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and Osun States to move the country forward.” Commending Nigerians on the outcome of last elections, Omiyale said: “The way Nigerians trooped out to participate in the April polls suggested that they were indeed hungry for truly representative democracy. It is therefore incumbent on all the elected leaders to justify their efforts by actualising their electoral promises.”
Lawmaker advocates good leadership for National Assembly By Sunday Ogundugba
H
OUSE of Representative elect representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1 ,Mr Bimbo Daramola has called for full investigation into the 10 billion legislative scam in the Federal House of Representatives, saying it would serve as a deterrent to incoming leadership of the house. Daramola in a statement yesterday said the Nigerian legislature needs new breed leadership that would sanitize the rot in the house. The statement reads in part: “The situation the house has found itself begs for a leadership that will sanitise and deodorize the suffocating stench from the rot in the legislature. This is because the new parliament cannot stand on a distracted house. “It is one of the saddest spectacles of our nation, that the House of Representative, a democratic institution will be at the mercy of a bank and members are not outraged. “Talking about the strength of our institution, it beats me how one man could go into negotiation on behalf of the whole house and conclude such transactions that exposes members and the constituencies to the tune of 10 billion “As the 7th Assembly is inaugurated, I urge other elected members of the House of representatives to be reminded that aside jostling for leadership positions must review the activities of the outgoing speaker of the house. “The new legislature need to rise up for integrity and to battle for institutional integrity rather than keep quiet.There must be conscious effort to deepen the supremacy and impact of our institution in order to get the confidence of Nigerians “If we keep quiet about the 10 billion scam,Nigerians will believe that we have joined the bandwagon.Our entry should be a relief to Nigerians because the parliament should be bulwark of democracy. “As the jostling for leadership in the house begins, we must make strident call for full investigation into this 10 billion legislative sleaze and those who have exposed this ridicule must not be murdered. This is the first condition and assurance that whoever must become the next speaker should commit themselves to ,otherwise we would be spinning round in circles.
‘We won’t disappoint Benue people’
and conducted ourselves in the most orderly manner in line with global tenets of liberal democracy. We are happy today that the people of Benue State have vindicated us. My dear people of Benue State, elections have come and gone, now is the time to settle down to serve you. Now is the time for reconciliation. Now is the time for all hands to be on deck. Now is the time for us to walk together and to work together as brothers and sisters. For me and my team, it is a new beginning in which we must all invest more hope, commitment and patriotism. We see a brighter future ahead of us, that can only be achieved if we act consciously, in unison and with commitment. Once again, I invite all sons and daughters of Benue state, at home and in the Diaspora, to disregard partisan differences and join us to move Benue state forward. As a government, we have learned from our past experience, what would greatly help us in the discharge of our new mandate. This is why as we brace up to take courageous and meaningful steps toward enhancing our people’s welfare, we nurse no grudges against our opponents who, in any case, have a legitimate and constitutional right to hold divergent opinions. Let me say here, as we celebrate this day, that democracy is the only system of government that accommodates us all, especially if our disagreement is based on principles and is devoid of violence. After all, as popular saying goes the minority should have their say while the majority should have their way. I wish to assure you once more that we will continue to do all that will unite the good people of the state, just as we shall do everything within our powers to maintain peace and respect the sanctity of every life and property. To achieve all these, we will continue to count on you, the good people of Benue individually and collectively. We solicit your cooperation and understanding as we also begin to implement the last phase of our Blue-print, Our Benue, Our Future. In this regard, I shall soon constitute a cabinet of credible and expe-
rienced individuals who will be presented to our new State House of Assembly for their kind approval. We intend to involve more hands. We also wish to provide enough incentives for astute and enterprising individuals to create wealth in the productive sector of the economy, which is the new focus of the administration. At a momentous occasion such as this, it is essential for us to take stock of what had transpired in the past four years. This is a necessary step so as to enable us appreciate from where we are coming and where we are heading. In this regard let me briefly ask you to cast your minds four years back when our beloved state was besieged by communal clashes, border disputes, armed robbery and cultism. Cast your minds back to those years of darkness when there was no security, no taxis, no good roads, no street lights, no walkways, no proper sanitation and no night life in Makurdi. When we took off in May 2007, there were virtually no infrastructure like water, electricity, urban and rural roads. The conditions in our primary, secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions were not good either. There were no good classrooms, no teaching materials and very low motivation for teachers and poor management of schools. Salaries and other allowances were being owed primary school teachers for several months. General hospitals purported to have been constructed by the previous administration were abandoned in bushy environments, without water or electricity, without perimeter fences and without drugs or other necessary equipment. There was a
• Suswan
drastic loss of morale among the civil servants of Benue State while the traditional institutions were totally neglected and treated with disdain. Four years on, we have fully reasserted ourselves and inspired confidence in our people to the effect that we have transformed our state headquarter into a modern city with all the amenities found elsewhere. We have also succeeded in reversing that notorious impression of stagnation of government activities and projects and we can say with all sense of responsibility that Benue state has gone back to work. We have indeed made a start
in many areas of our public life beginning with infrastructural developments which we regard as a catalyst for economic development. In this regard we have embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of thirteen (13) major rural roads in the state, out of which we have already completed three. They include Adikpo–Ikyogen– Jato-Aka road, Ugba-Anyiin road, EkeOlemgbecho/ Ugbokolo- Otukpo road. Government offices have been renovated and refurnished to create a more conducive working environment for all of us. Today, we also have a brand new Governor’s lodge, a structure that is not only symbolic of our new status of modernist development, but is already acclaimed as a tourist destination! We have also constructed township roads in Makurdi, Gboko, Katsina-Ala and Otukpo complete with walkways and street lights. The construction of water works at Makurdi, Otukpo and KatsinaAla to produce a total combined capacity of about 130,000 cubic metres of water per day is at 95% completion while about 565 boreholes have been sank across the state so far. During same period, about 43 towns and villages have been electrified in Benue State. In the agriculture sector we have purchased 137 new tractors, repaired 44 broken ones and we also adopted a very effective modality of distributing fertilizers to the real famers at the grassroots. During the first term, priority attention was also given to education by building more classrooms, rehabilitating many that were dilapidated and providing educational
‘When we took off in May 2007, there were virtually no water, electricity, urban and rural roads. The conditions in our primary, secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions were not good either. There were no good classrooms, teaching materials and very low motivation for teachers and poor management of schools. Salaries and other allowances were being owed primary school teachers for several months. General hospitals purported to have been constructed by the previous administration were abandoned in bushy environments, without water or electricity, without perimeter fences and without drugs or other necessary equipment’
materials in primary and secondary schools all over the state. The Benue State University also enjoyed enhanced funding as it became one of the first state-owned universities to implement the enhanced salary scale for academic staff last year. Civil servants in Benue State also enjoyed a pay rise as well as other benefits which they were hitherto denied. Ladies and gentlemen, time will not allow me to mention all the critical areas in which our government intervened. These achievements notwithstanding , I want to admit that we were confronted by several challenges, which included inadequacy of power supply, low internal revenue generation machinery which has however been re-organized for optimal performance. The near absence of the private sector to complement Government efforts remains a challenge. Indeed, we do recognize the enormous challenges that lie ahead especially with the ever swelling number of unemployed youths and rural-urban migration. During our next term, we shall place more emphasis on the area of poverty reduction and employment through industrialization and the improvement of agriculture. The proposed Mbatiav and Igumale Cement factories will be vigorously pursued. Government would also revamp ailing industries and privatize or lease them as soon as they take off. We shall help our people to establish cottage industries through easy access to loan and credit facilities. The Benue State government will also establish skills acquisition centres in the state to help produce skilled and self reliant manpower in various fields of human endeavour. My good people of Benue State, we are all aware that our efforts to improve the economy of the state by stimulating the growth of the private sector cannot be realized without addressing the issue of inadequate power supply. It is in view of this reality, therefore, that government applied to ADB/ADF to finance a study on the Katsina-Ala Hydro electric project at Udura village to produce 1200 Mega Watts of electricity. The grant of US $2.7M has been approved and documentation is going on.