Kogi Grinds to a Halt
The activities of the Kogi State Government have literarily ground to a halt following the air of uncertainty that befell the state after the governorship poll. Atabor julius writes
Government business in Kogi State seems to have been running at the lowest ebb following the outcome of the 2015 governorship election which did not favour incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada. To complicate the political matter in the state, there are many legal cases hanging on the neck of the Governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. Worst hit are public workers in the state who had a bleak Christmas because of the failure of the State Government to pay their arrears of salaries in December. The state government who was consistent in meeting its salary obligation to the workers however failed to pay the workers shortly after the November 21,2015 governorship election which outcome has created political logjam in the state. Following the death of Audu Abubakar, Alhaji Yahaya Bello from the central zone in the State, who had earlier came second in the APC primary election was adopted as the APC candidate replacing late Abubakar Audu.
Governor Wada was adamant as he refused to bulge to the workers threat to go on strike for non- payment of salaries. Some people in the state believed that the governor may be nursing grievances against the workers for their failure to ensure his victory at the polls. The governor may have onsidered them as saboteurs and so did not deserve sympathies.
Analysts are also on the view that the governor may be of the view that his defeat by the candidate of the APC Yahaya Bello was a gang up by the state workforce. Bello 40, had consistently during the electioneering told the people of the state that he was not only for power shift but also to to the younger generation. However, the death of the Audu has brought about power shift from the kogi East to the Central and to the younger generation.
Meanwhile the political atmosphere in the state has been charged as nobody including Faleke, Wada and Yahaya Bello is sure of what becomes of the future as a result of multiple court cases against the election of Bello. The political uncertainty in the state has wittingly affected socio political and economic lives.
Analysts however believe that the prevailing political situation in the state may pose problem to the incoming government, but the problems are not insurmountable
Commenting on the expected challenges, a social critics and political analyst in Kogi state, Dr Suleiman Audu, said it is expected that in a situation like this where there are several interests , it is also expected that some of those interests may wish to test their strength at the law court which he said will serve as distraction to the new government. He enjoined APC to quickly wade into the situation before the inauguration slated for January 27th, 2016 and make it clear to all members that “what has happened is within the same political family, let us come together and resolve the difference instead of creating problems for the government that is just trying to take off, then the challenges within the party will be solved”
He added that if the crises continue, attention will be shifted to court cases instead of development which is the real change the people of the state have been yearning for.
Also, the national leadership of APC has a lot to do in the area of uniting the fragmented APC in the state. Even the leadership at the state level have to come together and forget the existing crises within the party in recent time”
But it seems Bello is not unaware of this problem, in his remark shortly after his declaration as the winner of the election, he said that the crises that ensued during the election was a family affairs, saying they must come together to address it before it escalated.
There is also the challenges at the local government administration as the council chairmen in the 21 LGA areas of the state are predominantly PDP , they have only six months to the expiration of their tenure, if the incoming administration sack them, it will equally create problem for the government.
Therefore Bello should be magnanimous enough and leave them to finish their tenure, because by the time he clamp down on the particular arm of government, those who occupied the positions would also have good reasons to continue working against the government instead of joining hands to work for the development of the state.
Financial challenge is also a major area the new government has to look into. It is no longer hidden that at December, 2015 the state government is owing up to two months arrears of salaries, which if the out going administration is unable to pay will pose heavy burden on the incoming government
The new governor has to look inward toward the Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) with a view to improving it to enable him meet up with the payment of salaries and equally attending to developmental projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the citizens.
Local government council which supposed to be the government closer to the grassroots is also facing issues of non- payment of salaries as many councils for the past three years battled with payment of 10 percent, at times 20 percent salaries to their staff which is a serious challenge the new man must come to term with.
How he resolve this will also determine his developmental drive for the state. He has to look into it holistically by way of finding the causes and lasting solution through the state government contribution to the councils to lessen the financial pressure on them.
These challenges are surmountable through a careful planning and assemblage of good hands to drive his government as Bello does not really have the challenge of minority because he belong to the minority within the majority.
But the workers in the state will not pray for the type of Christmas they celebrated last year. Audu Etila is a middle level officer with kogi state civil service and a happy family man who would do anything to provide the best of life for the family.
He has kept faith with his three children and wife in meeting their needs during Christmas for the past couple of years by providing wears, food items and taking them to relaxation spots across the state to catch fun.
But for Etila, the 2015 had bad message waiting for him. He had hoped that the three months salaries owed him by the state government would be paid before the yelutide, courtesy of rumour millers who had given him false hope that salary would be paid with arrears.
But that was not to be even as the threat of strike action by the labour unions could not pacify the State Government to pay the salaries.
On the 25th December, the Christmas day, reality finally done on Etila that even rice the staple food would not be in the kitchen. He then ran to his friend Emeka the provision seller to get a reprieve but he was dead wrong as his friend refused him.
He went to Chinedu a boutigue dealer to get some wears for the children but he met a stone wall.
However, Etila was not alone in the frustration while celebrating this year s Christmas in the confluence state as both the civil servants and business people and even the politicians were not spared of the harsh economy in the state.
Kogi state known for its abundance tourism sites was a gory of itself during the festivals as there were no fun seekers to patronise them because most residents have to grapple with fuel scarcity and paucity of funds .
The situation was worst hit for hotel owners and managers of bars and drinking joints as they had to contend with empty beds , chairs and tables filling the spaces without customers.
At the NUJ bar, a popular joint in Lokoja the state capital known for its alluring historical Lord Lugard building and salivating steaming fish joint and the mortuary standard beer restaurant which hitherto was cynosure of all eyes for the fun seekers in Lokoja, but it was a different ball game this yuletide because of low patronage.
According to the operator of the joint , Mr.Eleojo Ejike while speaking to THISDAY, he noted that last year’ sales was the lowest in many years comparable only to the era of June 12,1993 political struggle that brought the nation to its knees.
Also, the Chucks Supermarket on the IBB way was a shadow of itself even a s the promotion on products embarked by the management could not help sales ditto for rams and cow markets which did not witness any appreciable fortunes in sales associated with Christmas. These analysts put at the door steps of the economic problem in the state. At most of the fuel stations that had fuel to dispense which price hovered between N150’ to N 200 there were very few vehicles that patronised them even as the marginal increase in transport fare was not a motivation for high traffic .