Citizen Lawal Ozomata James Writes Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State

Your Excellency Sir, let me use this medium to congratulate you on this occasion of your two years in office as the Executive Governor of Kogi State, no doubt these two years has been a chequered year characterized by the goods and bad. A substantial part of your first year in office was punctured by litigation arising from your emergence as the Governor of Kogi State. Thank God it ended well.
Let me quickly applaud you for the success achieved by your administration in these two years especially in the critical sectors of; Health, Education and Agriculture. The New Direction Government under your leadership have shown dogged determination in revamping these sectors to the benefit of Kogi citizens. I will also like to specially commend you for the huge success recorded in curbing insecurity in the State. Among your numerous achievements, this is widely acknowledged even by your diehard critics. Today, Kogi State under your watch is safe to both citizens and investors, your merciless approach toward insecurity has yielded wonderful result and Kogites are appreciative of this.

In the last two years, the quintessential zeal and vigour you approached Education saw the groundbreaking of Six Unity Schools of global standard across the Three Senatorial District, Payment of Tuition fee to Kogi State Medical Students, among others are notable and worthwhile.

In the last two years, hundreds of Kogites have received health attention, some within the country and others flown abroad, this shows that your Administration has serious concern for health. The sensitivity and promptness to the issues of health of your people and underpin the reason why Kogi State recorded few or no incident of epidemic in the last 24 months of your administration, where it occurred, it was nipped in the bud.

Your Excellency Sir, it is also on record, the ongoing massive road construction across the State, most of these Roads are as old as the State which successive government have given no attention.
The resuscitation of Kogi State Transport Company i.e Confluence express, that has stopped operation for almost a decade now is another feat worth applauding.

Your Excellency Sir, although I can go on and on itemizing your achievements in the last two years, however there are grey areas that your Administration need to give attention and improve upon.
One of this area is the Civil service/Civil servants. Haven dealt with Ghost Workers which is the cancarworm that has hitherto bedevilled the civil service, it is pertinent to give more attention to the welfare of the civil servants in the area of prompt payment of Salary, Promotion with cash backing, Payment of Leave Bonus and Training and Retraining of the civil servants. The Civil Servants may be a small percentage looking at the population of the state, their tentacles spread wide beyond our imagination. Since your Administration has overcome the Salary palaver, I urge you your Excellency to sustain and improve upon the payment of Salary as and when due and work toward other aspects of Civil Servants welfarism. I am more emphatic about this because this is the only area critics have lay hold of your Administration weakness in the last 24 months. As you work towards achieving this, do not also forget to prosecute those who brought the hardship on Kogites through over bloating of the payroll, diversion of public funds, corrupt practices etc

Your excellency you will agree with me that your emergence as the Governor of Kogi State was divinely ordained, no mortal can take credit for it, this is why I appeal to you to settle with your aggrieved party members. Bring them to a round table in the spirit of oneness. The lizard is gradually gaining entrance into the crack wall and these may not be too good for our party. As the leader of the party, it behooves you to bring your party members together as desperate groups are capitalizing on the rift to make headways in the coming election.

Your Excellency, let me also bring to your notice that few of your appointees have fully justified the confidence you repose in them. Kogi State have seen in these few of your appointees selflessness, service to the people and viable representation within their capacity.

For the first time, few appointees in your government have drawn more sympathy to your government through massive and purposeful empowerment that stand the taste of time. The empowerment they embarked on is one of the best that has happened on the part of your appointees. Empowering hundred of their constituents in various skills in the name of GYB New Direction initiative. Payment of WAEC fee to Secondary school Students. Giving Scholarship to students to study Masters degree and other leverage program embarked upon by some of your appointees is worthy of commendation. These appointees need to be given a higher responsibility.
Your Excellency Sir, as I conclude this letter, I urge you to look inward and remove the weeds mitigating the growth of your Administration. As you begin the journey into the last two years of your first tenure, there is still much room for improvement, your administration is on the right track, much can still be achieved. It is my earnest prayer that, the next two years shall be glorious and more fulfilling.

Happy two years anniversary to you your Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello the Executive Governor of Kogi State.

Yours,
unrepentant GYBITE.
Lawal Ozomata James
Writes from Lokoja