This is a touch of Governor Yahaya Bello in Olamaboro LGA of kogi State.
We are majority a people of gratitude with deeply rooted unity of purpose. We repay good with good.
There may be few who will never see or say anything good. They are found in every community.
But Olamaboro has shown gratitude in numbers by turning up for APC in the just concluded elections.
Thank you Olamaboro for standing right always.
Click the image below to read the congratulating message of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, to the president elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on a PDF version.
Click on the images below to view the PDF version of the KGVCDP Progress Report
The Federal Government is to relocate 10, 000 persons in Mosun Community in Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi following the rampaging activities of the River Benue during raining season.
Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, the Managing Director (MD) of the Hydro-Electricity Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), made this known on Monday during a tour of the affected communities in Mosun Community.
Yelwa said that the relocation of the affected communities became imperative sequel to the negative impact of the 2022 flood in the affected communities as villagers had to desert their homes for safety.
“We will begin construction of buildings that would accommodate the affected villagers in two weeks if we are shown the piece of land by the traditional ruler and the Bassa Local Government authorities.
“What we are afraid of is the flood for 2023, going by the prediction of NiMet, which says this year’s rain would be heavier than that of 2022, which may mean more flood than what we experienced.
“Here we are at the site, and you can see for yourselves the levels of damaging activities of the River Benue in these communities within Mosun kingdom. We have to do something to save their lives and make their living worthwhile.
“As soon as the authorities show us the piece of land to relocate them, we shall begin construction work immediately. We are ready to move our equipment to the river banks to start work on controlling ithe ravaging erosive activities, ” the MD said.
Earlier, the traditional ruler of the Mosun Kingdom, Alhaji Burka Ali, told the HYPPADEC boss and his entourage that the 2022 flood was very devastating.
”No fewer than 10,000 people were displaced by the 2022 flood. In fact, land space of over 300m was washed away by the flood.
“As for the piece of land for the resettlement of my unfortunate people, we have already selected a piece of land to show HYPPADEC.
“I am short of words. We appreciate the commission and the Federal Government for this show of love and concern to the people of my kingdom.
“We are ready to cooperate with HYPPADEC to see that the resettlement programme is a success for the good of our fellow brothers and sisters as well as our children, who have suffering due the flood, ” Ali said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visit of the commission to the Mosun kingdom was spiced with the award of chieftaincy title to the HYPPADEC boss and Alhaji Isa Ozi-Salami, the Kogi Representative on the governing board of the commission.
While Yelwa was crowned as the “Ondaihi” (Galadima) of Bassa Land, Ozi-Salami was crowned the “Oniereza Ogbanyi of Mozum kingdom.
NAN reports that NiMET warned Nigerians to prepare for an earlier-than-expected onset of rainfall in most parts of Nigeria.
Starting on or around March 2, NiMET said, the coastal areas of the south-south comprising Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom will see heavy rainfall.
NiMET said an extended rainfall season is predicted to occur in Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, western Ogun, and Lagos states.
The northern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno will have an onset of rain between June and July.
Peak rainfall would be between July and September.
It said the coastal zone of the South-south states of Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom will observe unpleasant rainfall changes.
NiMET also said the central states are likely to wait until May while Katsina, Zamfara, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Cross River, Ebonyi, Imo, and Rivers will experience delayed onset of rainfall.
For Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno the rains will not begin until June and July. Only Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kwara Gombe, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos will be near normal but with a worrisome quantity.
NiMET added that the noticeable increase in climate change and human-triggered activities including indiscriminate dumping of wastes will cause more floods in 2023 and that the waters will come in high intensity within a short duration. (NAN)
Naira Redesign Victory: Elated Nigerians hail Yahaya Bello and others as ‘Heroes of the Republic’ online as CBN finally recapitulates and order banks to transact in all currencies. It will be recalled that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Governors Yahaya Bello, Ahmad El Rufai and Bello Matawalle of Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States respectively in a suit they instituted against the federal government disagreeing with the mode of implementation of the Naira redesign policy by the CBN.
The governors and 16 others of their colleagues across party lines who later joined the suit argued that the way the CBN rolled out the policy, which they do not oppose, will work unimaginable hardship on the Nigerian citizenry, as later proved to be the case.
Officials of the Kogi State Government and stakeholders in the financial sector have stormed the streets of Lokoja to sensitize the people on the need to accept the old naira notes in line with the ruling of the Supreme Court.
Addressing a large crowd of Okada riders and market women under the newly constructed Ganaja Flyover in Lokoja, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Kingsley Fanwo congratulated Nigerians over the Supreme Court judgement, saying the people can now use both the old and new naira notes together till December 31, 2023.
“We have met with the banks and they have agreed that they will accept old naira notes as deposits. So we urge all Okada riders, Keke riders and market men and women to accept the old naira notes.
“The State Government is grateful to the banks for their cooperation and commitment to the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. It is criminal to reject old naira notes after the judgement”, he said.
He further said the State Government will monitor compliance strictly.
In the same vein, the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd) harped on the need for Kogites to cooperate with the State Government in her bid to ease the current financial strains occasioned by the current cash policy. He said his office will work with security agencies to ensure compliance.
In his remarks, Mukadam Asiwaju Idris Asiru said the banks are already accepting old notes as deposits, urging the people to take advantage of the cooperation of the banks. He also said he has already gotten the commitment of the banks to load their ATM with old and new naira notes to ease the cash scarcity in the state.
The representatives of the major banks in Lokoja also assured the people of the readiness of the banks to accept old naira notes as deposits. They said the directive took effect on Monday morning, urging customers to freely accept old naira notes.
The sensitization train visited all transport unions, fuel stations and major markets in Lokoja. They also assured the people of sustained sensitization on radio and other media of communication.
Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara States lead the way, as Supreme Court Decides Implementation of Naira Redesign Policy
The Nigerian Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment on March 3rd, 2023 on the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, bringing an end to a sharp but serious legal skirmish between some state governments led by the trio of Kogi, Kaduna and Zamfara and the federal government of Nigeria on the controversial implementation of the Naira Redesign policy by the later.
In a nutshell, the apex court nullified the policy and declared it an affront to the 1999 Constitution. The Court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should remain in circulation until the 23rd of December, 2023.
It would be recalled that the naira redesign policy was announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take control of the naira in circulation, manage inflation, combat counterfeiting, and ransom payment. However, the acute scarcity of the new notes made the deadline unfeasible, prompting the bank, with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, to extend the legal tender status of the old notes until 10 February.
Three state governments (Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara) sued the federal government at the Supreme Court for a reversal of the policy on 3 February, citing the hardship the continued scarcity of naira notes brought to their people. The number of plaintiffs rose to 16 after six new states were added to the three initial plaintiffs during the hearing of the case on 22 February, three days to the national elections held on 25 February.
The biting cash crunch featured as a major issue in the lead-up to the elections, with many fearing that it could derail the process. The National Assembly asked the CBN to extend the deadline for acceptance of the old naira notes by six months, but the apex bank only extended it by ten days, citing that the deadline was not going to be extended further.
While the CBN’s redesign of the banknotes was done with the best of intentions, it was met with opposition from Nigeria’s finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, and APC presidential candidate, Mr Tinubu, who said during his campaigns that the policy was orchestrated to ensure his defeat in the election. The World Bank, IMF, and other international development agencies also advised the federal government to avoid implementing such a heavily disruptive policy with such haste, but all entreaties were ignored.
The Supreme Court’s interim order suspended the implementation of the deadline set by the federal government and directed that the old and new notes should continue to circulate. However, the CBN insisted that the old notes had stopped being legal tender after the 8 February deadline, while the scarcity of the new notes persisted. The stage was set for an epic battle at the Supreme Court.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court declared that the demonetization policy of the Federal Government was inconsistent with the CBN Act. It also declared that the President cannot make a unilateral policy without carrying the Plaintiffs along and that in issuing the policy, the President was under an obligation to carry the National Council of States along. The Court further stated that the policy had impeded the functions of state governments and that the directive of the President was illegal.
The Nigerian apex court’s decision has provided critical clarity on the legality of the naira redesign policy and its implementation. The decision by the three state governments to take the matter to the Supreme Court was a bold move and has certainly expanded the constitutional liberties of present and future Nigerians.
The judgment is a clear indication that executive powers must be exercised in accordance with the law and the constitution. It is hoped that this decision will set a precedent for future cases and will ensure that the rule of law is upheld in Nigeria.
Click on the images below to view the PDF version of the Supreme Court judgement on the Naira redesign policy.
Thousands of women professionals from Kogi Central Senatorial District, on Sunday, trooped out to express their gratitude to voters for turning out en masse to vote, overwhelmingly, for the All Progressives Congress’ candidates in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The women, who thanked Kogites and Governor Yahaya Bello of the State for the peaceful conduct of the election, said the ‘Thank You’ road walk became necessary in order to demonstrate that women in Central and in the state, generally, were solidly in support of the Governor for giving them the share of voice they had been clamouring for, for years, and to urge him to do more.
Led by notable women professionals in the district, the Kogi Central women took off from Okene Local Government Secretariat, walked through the newly built Reference Hospital, down to Total filling station and back to the Secretariat, chanting “thank you and victory songs” as they marched through the streets.
The Kogi State Coordinator, APC Professional Women Council, Hajia Rekiyat Onaivo, while speaking during the walk charged Kogi women to replicate their last outing by coming out en masse to vote for APC candidates in the State House of Assembly election, next Saturday.
She said the large turnout during the last presidential and National Assembly election was an indication that women in Kogi central appreciated Governor Yahaya Bello’s result-oriented women inclusive governance.
Onaivo Sanni, who is also the Executive Director Kogi Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA), enjoined women to support the current administration to enable it deliver more dividends of democracy to the people of the state, assuring that the Senator-elect, Abubakar Sadiku Ohere, would give good representation at the National Assembly.
The Chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ) Anne Olurinde, who also joined the walk, commended the state government for making the state’s resources work for the people, noting that the infrastructure projects undertaken by Governor Bello’s administration were unprecedented in the history of the state.
She said Kogites had enjoyed peace since the Governor assumed office and that, though journalists must be neutral, they also owed the state and the entire nation the duty of responsible journalism devoid of unfounded panic reporting.
“We monitored the elections, and considering what Kogi State elections have been like for decades, we can conveniently say it was very peaceful. The elections were free and fair,” Olurinde said, while urging aggrieved parties to seek redress in court to maintain peace.
“We refuse to be willing tools in the hands of politicians who are always painting one-sided picture of happenings in the state with sensational social media posts for selfish interests,” the NAWOJ Chairperson added.
“As the Chairman of the National Association of Women Journalists, Kogi State Chapter, I want to say we are very happy with the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello. He is undoubtedly the only governor in Nigeria that has given women the strongest voice in governance. There are so many awards in this regard to attest to this.
“His ADC is a woman, his SSG is a woman, HOS is a woman, and all the vice chairmen of local governments are women, among other top positions. I understand there are over 30 very senior female appointees currently. Don’t forget that he also appointed the first female DG of a presidential campaign organisation. I can go on and on. So I can understand why women in Kogi Central have trooped out like this today to demonstrate their solidarity with him.”
Good education is the key to success in any given society, the Governor Yahaya Bello’s Administration had given importance to good quality education for all her citizenry.
His government’s sole aim had been to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
The New Direction Administration initiative had been to produce articulated and skilled manpower necessary for a sustainable development and economic transformation of the State. Governor Bello’s unflinching commitment to the development of education in the State has remained true to course, by systematically improving the capacity of professional teachers and learning aids.
The first phase of the ongoing recruitment exercise of teachers in Kogi State came to an end with one thousand shortlisted candidates for the Technical Education and Teaching Service Commission to strengthen the capacity of Public School teachers in the State. Through the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, on Wednesday, the 15th of February 2023, the Kogi State Government conducted an orientation and induction program for the newly recruited teachers across the State.
The employment was based on merit after a rigorous aptitude test and oral interview of about eighteen thousand applicants across the State. The recruitment exercise was adjudged the most transparent, fair, and justifiable, which scored unprecedented marks in recruiting excellent minds devoid of political, religious, or primordial sentiment associated with the past.
