Yahaya Bello takes oath of office, urges support

• PDP mourns woman leader

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has urged the people of the state, particularly his political opponents, to put aside all differences of politics, ideology or affiliation and join hands with him to give the state the best of governance. Bello, who stated this yesterday at the Lugard House, Lokoja, shortly after he was sworn in by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasiru Ajanah, for a second term, also named 17 commissioner-designates.

The governor appealed to the state House of Assembly to ensure speedy clearance of the 17 commissioner-designates to allow them settle down quickly for the task of governance. According to him, his next level in Kogi State will rely on synergy at every stage, primarily the one between the people and the government but also with a wide array of domestic and international investors, service providers and development partners spread across the public and private sector.

He said: “By the grace of God, the oath of office I have just taken is a pact to do right by all citizens as the Fourth Executive Governor of Kogi State. In this second and concluding term of my constitutional tenure as governor, it shall be the principal pre-occupation of my administration to bring revitalised energy to bear in delivering refocused governance.

“We will sustain focus on agriculture for improved food security, mass employment and increase in internally-generated revenue. We will take the agricultural revolution, which we started in the first term to the next level.”

Bello, who also promised to build the nation’s largest ethanol plant in Kogi State for the production of ethanol fuel from cassava as this will and further expand the use of green fuels in Nigeria given that climate, said that outside agriculture, his administration would also pay greater attention to human capital development by investing more in training of people for enhanced relevance in a technologically-evolving future.

“With information and communications technology becoming such a big earner for individuals and societies, we will do our best to facilitate some youths with the relevant cognates and competencies to acquire further education in this area at leading institutions abroad. My primary allegiance as governor will remain to Kogi State and her citizens, not to party or tribe. Everyone is my citizen and I owe everyone the protections and fidelities inherent in the office,” the governor stated.

Meanwhile, as Kogi State celebrates the swearing in and inauguration of Bello for second term in Lokoja, his immediate rival, Musa Wada and supporters gathered in Abuja to mourn the late People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Woman Leader, Mrs. Salome Acheju Abu, who died in the wake of election violence in the state.

Abu died on November 18, 2019 after election results were announced and Bello was returned as duly elected governor when thugs set her house ablaze and she was burnt to ashes.Wada led supporters all dressed in complete black attire to the home of the late Abu to show solidarity with the heroine of Kogi democracy.He said ordinarily, he should have been taking the oath of office in Lokoja.

“Today is January 27, 2020 the supposed date for the inauguration of the elected government by the people of Kogi State but of course the opposite is the case today for reasons best known to you all.

“We are in the home of the heroine of the election of the popular mandate that Kogi people gave to the PDP and its candidate. “Instead of the celebration, we are here to mourn the temporary death of democracy in Kogi State. The heroine of the struggle is no other person than Mrs. Salome Acheju Abu.”