What has the state government been able to do in terms of reduction of poverty and unemployment in the state?
Today, we talk about merit as we have broken the jinx of ethnic and religious politics in Kogi State and of course class differences. Before. It is who you are, your father, your uncle or who you know that will determine whether you will be elected or appointed into various offices. I have superintended over elections before the forthcoming one; I will continue to learn and improve everyday in terms of performance and this next one is going to be secured. So, we are strategizing to ensure that all kinds of criminals are taken care of adequately before that day and I trust that all law enforcement agencies will do excellently well before the election and even during the campaigns.
Secondly, we ensured that we expanded the tax net and the revenue base of the state. There were so many revenue sources that were not harnessed before then. We also made use of legislation because there were no rules and regulations that governed revenue generation in Kogi State before we came on board.
To cut the story short, we discovered that this man has about eight companies mining coal in that local government area and they are not taking away anything less than N15 billion monthly, but if you go to the area, what you will see is an eye sore. And what have they paid in tax? I don’t think it is up to 0.001 percent of what they are making to both the state and local government.
Still on the issue of solid minerals, especially discovery of lithium deposits in Kogi, Nasarawa and Zamfara, which is said to be fuelling insecurity in the states. Is there any plan to partner with the Federal Government to ensure that the situation does not escalate? We have made several attempts to get the Federal Government to come to our aid after various interventions and palliatives by the state government. You will agree with me that before now, one has to hold one’s breath travelling from Abuja to Lokoja because of the poor condition of the road.
As we speak today, there are interventions going on those roads. In fact, Umahi immediately asked the acting managing director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to take a tour of federal roads in Kogi State, which he did immediately. That is how responsible and responsive the present administration is. So, our roads in Kogi are going to wear a new look very soon. For the state roads, you will be shocked over how we have been able to utilise the resources available to us to fix them.
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