GOVERNOR Idris Wada of Kogi State has urged the people of the state not to despair in the face of prevailing challenges plaguing the state and the nation at large.

In a message issued yesterday in Lokoja by his Chief Communications Manager, Phrank Shaibu, the governor charged the citizens to see the new year with renewed optimism and be active participants in the struggle to emancipate the state from the shackles of poverty and under-development.

Wada commended the people for conducting themselves peacefully during the last governorship election and expressed satisfaction at the decorous manner in which they had always handled outcomes of elections.