The civil right advocates,Political Analyst and one of the Leading opposition figures in Kogi state Comrade Usman Okai Austin, has described the one year in office of Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello as a disaster foretold, dismissing the administration as a One Chance Government.
In a statement signed by the activist and made available to journalists in Lokoja , Comrade Okai lamented the cruel fate that has befallen the State, stressing that the Confluence state never had it so bad since its creation in 1991, the outspoken figure said "even the former Milltary administrators of the state are rated far better than the coronated Governor "
He described one year of Governor Yahaya Bello as ,a ‘one chance bus’ where governance is praticised as a deceitful venture."
The opposition leader accused Governor Bello of squandering over N220 Billion within one year.
Since he assumed office Alhaji Yahaya Bello has wasted over N220 Billion Naira which include: a monthly allocation that has accrued to the State from the Federation allocation, N10Billion Naira infrastructural development fund that was applied for by the previous government which was given to Gov Bello,N20Billion Naira Bailout Fund and Parish Club Excess Refund of N11.6 Billion Naira,
Others are:N16 Billion for the construction of federal roads by former Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris which was refunded back to the state worth N16 Billion, N700 millions Ecological funds and over N3 billion allocation of December and N600 million internally generated revenue of the same month.
This is the highest by any Governor in so far, more than what Governor Wada received in his entire four years in office.
The question is, what has Alhaji Yahaya Bello used all these resources to achieve for the State?
It is on record that instead of improving on the legacies of his predecessors in managing the Civil Servants , he instead chooses to destroy them.
Over thousands of the workers and pensioners are labeled ghost workers based on the directionless policy of Governor Yahaya Bello Administration.
Within the period under review,Alhaji Yahaya Bello has destroyed all the modern primary and secondary schools constructed by the previous Administration which has now turned into dens of kidnappers due to the lingering strike orchestrated by non payment of teachers, our health sector has gone from bad to worst within one years as the capable hands are labeled ghost Doctors and Nurses and Hospital denied of modern equipments to the extend that the patient has to go and buy syringe from chemist themselves.
Kogi state Diagnostic Hospital Lokoja is more of mortuary as so many dead corpse are seeing on bed due to poor health facilities,
“Our Agriculture sector that was revolutionised through the establishment of the Modern Agricultural Development Projects ADPs, the Palm Fruits and the Rice Production Centres have either been scrapped or rendered useless by Bello Administration.
The opposition youth leader bemoaned the high level of violence in the State in the past one year that Bello has been in power. “Today, the once adjudged the most peaceful State in Nigeria (the Confluence State) has turned to den of kidnappers ,Assassination,Arm robbery,above all a Confluence of blood where;"kidnappers, assassins, cultism, robbers not only hold sway but are empowered through patronage," he said
According to his recently a lecturer from Benue state was Kidnapped and her dead body found along Lokoja- Abuja road,while last week so many were abducted along Ajaokuta, Itobe Road among them is one Hassan Ado ,the former Chairman of the Pdp Dekina and Others the kidnappers collected millions from their victims.
Our traditional rulers were equally not save as one of was the prominent Traditional Ruler from Ajaokuta was kidnapped and has to spent his new year eve with kidnappers as the victims are left alone with their fate, the state government can't beat her chest and tell us any effort put in place to secure the state as there is an exodus of Kidnappers into Kogi state because Bello has made kogi state the safe haven for the kidnappers and the armed robbers,
Everyday people are Bering kidnapped as the government seems careless or clueless,Okai said
Based on the above sad and pathetic scenario, is now obvious that the Confluence State has nothing to celebrate, “especially having ensured that one year in office the state civil servants are treated like slave due to his obnoxious policy as Kogi State is no longer safe even for the passerbye,
Alhaji Yahaya Bello performance in several other aspects of the lives of Kogi people has also been woeful. Till today, Alhaji Yahaya Bello administration has no concrete policies on Agriculture, Education, Industrial Development, Manufacturing, Tourism, Employment Generation, State Security, etc. This man is a total disaster.
The only visible achievement by Bello and his gang of confused minds is repackaging and commissioning of Class rooms built by the management of the School Health Technology,Idah and repainting of street light pools in a Lokoja Town put in place by the Wada Administration and the heavy taxation and levies being imposed on Trailers passing by as well as the reintroduction of school WAEC /NECO fees earlier cancelled by Alhaji Ibrahim Ibro Administration.
We the good people of Kogi should ask ourselves, what have we gotten ourselves into? Where and when did Kogi State fall off the track and fall into Bello's one chance bus? “Who did this kind of thing to us?” As we sympathize with the people of Kogi State over the misfortune of having a one chance government rule over them.
It appealed to Bello “in the interest of our people and the future of our children, not to be ashamed and to humbly ask his predecessors to teach him how to manage civil servants and possibly learn from their own mistake on where they failed and what is their mistakes
Alhaji Yahaya Bello is fast emerging as the first clueless,Pharaoh, Dictator governor of Nigeria ,Kogi state is blessed with men of intellectual capacity but we are unfortunate to have briefly Yahaya Bello in leadership position.
Comrade Austin therefore call on Kogites at home and in the diaspora to come together and rescue the state from team of looters under the leadership of Alh Yahaya Bello.
