As President Buhari visits Nasarawa today
When President Muhammadu Buhari arrives in Nasarawa State for a one day official visit, he will have time to commission and inspect only a few projects but dotting the entire Nasarawa landscape he will see the magic touch of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura. In nearly seven years as governor, this highly focused, dynamic and goal-getting governor has lifted the state from abject squalor into the ranks of the most progressive and fast developing states in Nigeria.
He did so by spreading the Midas touch in all sectors in order to achieve holistic development. The Al-Makura administration’s dynamic urban renewal programme has constructed numerous intracity road networks all over the state. Among the roads built in the past three years within Lafia metropolis alone are UAC-Tudun Gwandara Kwandare - College of Agriculture loop, Super Cinema-New Market Road, Lubona Junction-New Market-Lafia East-Government House Road and Sabon Pegi- Awe Street Road. Others are Lafia East-Governor Isa’s House Road linking Makurdi Road; Sandaji-“B” Division Road, Adamu Mu’azu/ GRA Road as well as Dalhatu ArafGovernor Al’Makura’s House Road. Other new roads within Lafia are the GSS Maina-16 Mango-Tudun Gwandara Road Link, UBA -ERCC Road, ERCC-Shinge Road Link and UAC-Saint James Road. Many other asphalt drained township roads were built in Doma, Akwanga, Wamba, Nasarawa Eggon, Awe, Obi, Nasarawa and Keffi towns.
In addition, the Al-Makura Administration has built six hundred kilometres of rural roads across the state’s three senatorial zones. This has greatly eased commerce and movement of agricultural produce, the backbone of the state’s economy. Many culverts and bridges were also built to ease rural and urban transportation.
Street light were also refurbished and reinstated on the 16kms Federal Highway from College of Agriculture gate to Akunza Roundabout on the Makurdi Road exit. All urban asphalt drained roads have been provided with solar powered street lights. Governor Umaru Al’Makura also built Traffic Lights in strategic spots. In the state capital, Lafia today, taxis are gradually taking over from “Going”, the ubiquitous commercial motorcycles. The state government also bought several hundred tricycles or Keke TA’AL and sold them at subsidised cost to beneficiaries in order to boost urban transport.
A major Al-Makura legacy project is the International Cargo Airport in Lafia. This government/private partnership project is being handled by Tongyi Engineering Group Nigeria Ltd and is meant to cash in on Nasarawa’s proximity to the Federal Capital Territory. Governor Al-Makura said the International Cargo Airport would help to unlock the state’s investment potential and relieve Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport.
The Al-Makura administration also led the way in the provision of modern markets across the state. These include the Lafia UltraModern Market located along Kwandare Road Lafia; Akwanga Modern Market on Akwanga-Lafia Road; Keffi Modern Market along old Keffi-Nasarawa Road and the Lafia Neighbourhood Market located at the former Lafia Market in old Lafia. Karu International Market near the Federal Capital Territory is the largest of all the state’s markets and subdivided into Phases 1 and Phase 2. Phase 2 of the Market will be commissioned by President Buhari today.
Governor Umaru Tanko AlMakura’s administration also extended the Midas touch to health care services. After first recalling doctors and other health workers from a prolonged strike, Al-Makura first renovated and remodeled the General Hospitals in Awe and Toto, followed by General Hospitals Akwanga and Karu. The governor also constructed X-Ray and Scanning Units at the Akwanga General Hospital. Al-Makura also completed building the permanent site of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Lafia. He also recruited quality staff to man the institution and stocked its library with relevant books. He provided water and linked the school to the National grid, and also ended the out -of- stock syndrome in drug supply in the state through the Drug Revolving Fund Scheme. The Multi Million Naira Central Medical Store along Shendam Road, Lafia which houses the state’s medical store was completed. In addition, the governor is currently building three model hospitals in the three senatorial zones. These are the 160bed Model General Hospital in Lafia, 100-bed Model General Hospital, Akwanga and Model General Hospital, Nasarawa. Construction work in Lafia has reached 90% and is part of Government’s effort to decongest the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.
To boost agricultural production, Governor Al-Makura procured 50,000 metric tons of assorted fertilizers and sold same at subsidized prices to genuine farmers. Government also provided improved seedlings of various crops. Al-Makura has brought in foreign farmers, the OLAMS, to the State. They are engaged in large scale rice cultivation in Rukubi in Doma LGA, cultivating high yield rice on 60,000 hectares of land. There are also Kereksuk Farms in Tunga, Awe LGA and Zimbabwe Farmers in Panda, Karu LGA. The Dangote Group of Companies is operated in Tunga with over 60 thousand hectares of land under cultivation for sugar cane production to feed two sugar factories with production of 430 thousand metric tons of refined sugar per annum. This represents 30% of our national sugar consumption. In these and all other areas, President Muhammadu Buhari will personally witness the actions of one of the most dynamic state administrations in Nigeria, the Nasarawa State Government headed in the last six years by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura. Akwe and Attah wrote this piece from Lafia, Nasarawa State.