Kingsley Fanwo is Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications. In this interview, he speaks on achievements under the leadership of Governor Usman Ododo, the state’s investments drive, strategies adopted to tackle insecurity and reduction in food inflation, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

What are the achievements of Governor Usman Ododo’s administration so far?

The administration of the Chief Servant of Kogi state, Governor Usman Ododo, came with a very clear vision, a vision to continue the laudable projects of the past administration and also to consolidate by initiating new programmes, policies, and projects that will impact on the lives of the people.

When you talk about achievements, generally the focus should be on capital projects, human capital development, and road infrastructure. A lot of road projects have been put in place by the administration. They are very important roads across the state, not just the state capital.

When you talk about educational infrastructure, the administration has pumped billions of Naira to improve infrastructure in our schools, right from the primary schools to the secondary schools, to the tertiary institutions across the state.

We’re currently remodelling close to 400 primary health care centres across the state to enable them to be able to perform secondary health care services, and to be able to cater for the needs of the people at the grassroots. In agriculture, just in a matter of nine months, we’re able to reduce food inflation in the state through deliberate policies that empower farmers across the state to be able to produce massively.

I will tell you that last year alone, over N60 billion worth of cashew left the shores of the state, and we remain the number one cashew producer in Nigeria. We’re also doing the same with cassava, and we’re opening up a lot of other initiatives to empower our youths through training and empowerment.

As you’re aware, hundreds of youths were currently trained at a career institute in the state to be able to provide services for the industrialisation that we’re experiencing in the state. They were not just trained; the state government also equipped them with their kits to be able to render services and be able to stand on their own and contribute to the economy of the state.

Through our deliberate policies on security, we have been able to attract a lot of industries into the state. In the life of the current administration, one of the largest cement factories in Nigeria, Manga Cement, also came into being and they’ve started production and distribution across the country.

Let’s also talk about the utilisation of the state’s funds. A little over a trillion naira was being disbursed to the government. How has this money been used to better the lives of residents across the local government areas of the state?

I think you’ll need to clarify the figures that you just put out. We’re talking about a trillion naira to a single state. That’s why I said maybe you might just want to put it in perspective for me.

How much does Kogi State get from federal allocation? Maybe you are talking about what was distributed by the 36 states and the 774 local government councils. We have an anti-graft agency that has been very effective in the state. And we also have anti-graft policies, especially as it affects the issue of public accountability and transparency.

So, everything and anything about the state could be found in the official website of the state. We put it there for the citizens to see. Those funds don’t belong to the governor or to government officials. They belong to the people of Kogi State. And under this administration, we have shown immense commitment to ensure that the people of Kogi State are part of the decisions.

When you look at the state Ministry of Finance, under the leadership of the experienced Commissioner of Finance, you’ll see that citizens’ engagement has been very constant. We sit down with the citizens to look at the budget. Have we performed; which area are we going to look at the following year? This has been what we’ve been doing in the state. And I’ll say that it is open.

It’s something that is very clear. The allocation of the state on a monthly basis has been between N9 billion to N10 billion. And because of the new minimum wage, of which we’re one of the first states to start its implementation because of our commitment to workers’ wealth, we’re paying about N6.2 billion to workers of the state from this allocation. The remainder goes to capital projects.

As a state, we’re viable enough to generate what is enough to drive our development plan and that is why we have been very strategic in improving IGR in Kogi

That is why we’re showing a lot of commitment to drive Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to be able to augment what we receive from federal allocation. We don’t want to be living on federal allocation.

As a state, we’re viable enough to generate what is enough to drive our development plan and that is why we have been very strategic in improving IGR in Kogi.

Let’s talk on the issue of illegal mining; that is not just peculiar to a state like Kogi State. How is the state government addressing this problem?

Let me commend the Minister of Solid Minerals for the initiative of having GATS to ensure the enforcement of mining laws and regulations in the country.

Kogi State, being a subnational, is cooperating to ensure that these policies are put into place. But in our view, when there is illegal mining, it’s a recipe for insecurity.

You have lots of people bringing arms into the state. So, we want to be part of these engagements, of these processes that bring miners to the state. We want miners to also interface with the state government.

If you are coming to mine in Kogi State, we want to have an interface engagement with you and also be able to see that this is how we’re going to guarantee the security of those that will work with you and the security of the people where the mining will be taking place.

Talking about interface, does that also capture the report that the Kogi State government acquired about 15 mining licenses to regulate the industry and also plans to train about 25,000 youths in that sector?

The conversation started with the immediate past administration, but the Ododo administration has deepened the conversation and has taken both steps of registering companies that will also participate in the solid minerals sector. Kogi State is blessed with more than 30 solid minerals of commercial quantity.

That’s why you have a lot of companies that are using some of our solid minerals. So, we want to participate as a state. If private competitors could obtain a license to participate, then we can also safeguard the economic interests of the people of Kogi State by participating.

By doing so, we’ll be able to increase our IGR. It is part of the conversation that I want us to have because we want to boost the revenue of the state in such a way that we do not depend on the federal allocations anymore.

We are strategically positioned. We are blessed with solid minerals. We are blessed with good land. We are blessed with water bodies. So, we have all it takes to be able to not just think for the economic interest of the people of Kogi State, but the entire Nigerian people

So, for us to be able to tap into this blessing and have what we call a shared prosperity agenda of the administration, we have decided to also participate in the mining sector.

That’s why you see the governor, strategically moving from one investing group to the other. We’ve been to Qatar, we’ve been to China, and we’re having very fruitful conversations. We’re ready to partner with all of these people to be able to put Kogi on the mining map of the globe.

Let’s focus on the big elephant in the room, and that has to do with security. It appears that terrorist groups are gradually stepping up their activities. What is Kogi state doing to fight back and ensure safety, particularly around your border towns?

It’s very critical that we ensure security. It’s the number one responsibility of any responsible government. We’re aware of all the pushback from the North-East, North-West, and how they’re finding the North Central as where they’re moving to right now. We’re bordered by about 10 states, including the Federal Capital Territory.

And we know that it’s our responsibility to ensure security of our people, and to also collaborate with the neighboring states to be able to guarantee the security of the North Central.

So, this is very critical and the administration is investing heavily. We’re doing what we call bottom to top approach to security, empowering local hunters, local volunteers, to be the first line of defence. Every community in Kogi State now has the first line of defence before we call in the conventional security operatives

These volunteers were well trained by officers of conventional security agencies to be able to observe the standards of engagement and the rules of engagement. So, it’s something that’s working magic in the state.

I will also say that we’re very grateful to the office of the National Security Advisor (NSA) and the service chiefs for their continual support in ensuring that we bombard these enemies of the state and ensure that they don’t find any comfort in our territory.

It’s something that is working very well for the state. We’re grateful to the President and Commander-inChief for all he is doing to ensure that Kogi State is safe.

Statistically, I will say that despite the very huge challenge of having these people from the North-West and the North-East, we’re doing a lot to ensure that Kogi remains a very safe place. We won’t be able to discuss some of these strategies in public but the outlaws are not finding it funny in Kogi State.

The last time we had a conversation on suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, particularly when she raised the issue of threat to her life during her homecoming, you said she would have her days in court. What’s the update to that?

Whatever the suspended senator might be going through, I think it’s just for her to deal with it. She’s an adult and she can deal with that. As a government, we don’t have any business with whatever travails she might be going through. I think, legally, a lot of issues are going on, and they are dealing with them in courts.