Presidential polls: There was nothing PDP could’ve done to win – Gov Wada
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| Gov. Idris Wada |
What has been your experience so far in the governance of Kogi State?
We thank God for his mercies because the time spent so far have been full of challenges. We started on a very solid foundation of coming up with a blue print for the transformation of our state. We have done a lot in trying to implement that agenda, starting with completing projects that were ongoing when we took over. We chose to continue with the projects because they were being executed for public good.
We thought it was only proper that we complete the projects leaving them partly done after some money had been paid will be a waste. After we completed majority of those projects, we came to another informed decision to split available resources between completing some of the remaining projects and also starting new projects. We have done a lot of work in terms of creating peaceful environment, enhancing security for our people so that enterprise will thrive.
We try to unify our people for a common purpose of development and transformation of Kogi State by being fair in the distribution of amenities and projects across the three senatorial zones of the state and we try to attend to the needs of our people in an equitable manner. This has helped to propel our agenda for unity and transformation of Kogi State.
We have done a lot of infrastructural projects, a lot of rural development projects; water, electricity, roads, hospitals and we have focused on agriculture because we believe it is a job creation area and anybody can go into agriculture. So we created an opportunity to improve the wealth of our people through agriculture and the message has gotten across and that is the way to the future.
Contrary to your statement, your critics say there is nothing on ground and that Kogi State is moving towards being a failed state because of your inability to pay salaries. What is your reaction to these claims?
In politics, you can expect all kinds of accusations from your opponents. If you come to Kogi State, I am building a University Teaching Hospital; we are building an ultra modern motor park in Lokoja, which hopefully should be commissioned in three months time. There is a very modern vocational training centre which we are building in partnership with Korea Corporation Industry, a development agency which is at the verge of commissioning next month.
We are building a dualised road, a bye pass, a 16 kilometre road to reduce traffic congestion. We are building about 500 houses in Lokoja and about 282 are almost completed, we have built 272 housing units in Lokoja for those who were displaced by flood, we have moved in some of those displaced people. We are building several township roads across the state.
We are building four zonal hospitals across the state, there are several health clinics we have built. We have dug more than 300 motorized boreholes across various parts of the state. We have electrified more than 400 villages across the state, renovated and built many schools and we are going to build more.
These are practical projects which people can see. So if my critics say we are not doing anything, you can come and see but you should not expect our opponents to praise me. When you talk of development, it must be measured along with the resources available to the state.
Kogi is not a failed state, we have paid salary every last week of the month since I came into office until May 2015 when we had challenges of payment where the money that came in was N2.7 billion while we needed about N3.1 billion to run our affairs. There was a shortage. Ordinarily when we have such challenges, we take over draft and pay but at a point we had to face reality, we were challenged and we couldn’t pay salaries for one month, as we speak, Kogi State owes one month salary.
So, anybody who says we are a failed state is not being factual. It is the prudence with which we have managed resources of the state that has enabled us to pay our salaries between 25th and 27th of every month since I came into office in January 2012.
The economic challenge we are facing as a nation is obvious to everyone and I think we should be commended for the efforts we have done in that regard including our ability to carry out some infrastructural projects along with these salary commitment over the three and half years I have been in office.
Before your assumption of office, the state was known as one of the top states renowned for thuggery. How did you check the problem?
It is not magic; it is a matter of strategy, sense of purpose and commitment. I took a firm posture that we will not tolerate violence, violent crimes will be punished, there will be no sacred cows, and everybody will be judged according to the law. We urged the people to behave well and be law abiding and we empowered the police and other security agencies; the army, the Department of State Security, even the paramilitary organisations like immigration, prisons, civil defence.
In some cases, we bought four wheeled vehicles, provided them with support and finance where necessary to operationalise their efforts and that way, when people were arrested and big men failed in getting them out, the message went round that anyone who commits crime in Kogi State will be punished according to the law. Government does not interfere with justice and I have never interfered.
I must commend the security agencies for their efforts in preventing crime in Kogi State. I must be honest with you, I was contacting several governors in the North, who were facing security challenges to get ideas from them on how to keep my state and that helped me a lot in coming out with strategies to maintain peace and security in the state.
With many PDP senators and House of Representatives’ members defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC, how do you intend to recoup, regroup and re-strategise to be able to win the forthcoming governorship election?
With regard to the elections, obviously we learned a lot of lessons in terms of what we should have done, what we shouldn’t have done, what the opposition did, what we could have done better and I can tell you that a lot of studies, consultations and meetings have been going on. We are strategising on how to ensure that we win the next election. We have learned some hard lessons and we have taken very concrete steps to ensure that we have better results during the forthcoming governorship elections by God’s grace.
Your party suffered defeat in the last general elections. As a PDP governor, what do you think PDP did wrong or could have done better?
There was a cry for change in the country. With PDP having been in power for 16 years and people feeling there was need for change, there was nothing much PDP could have done to overcome that change mantra that was blowing across the country. There were so many criticisms on the efforts of PDP, so it was difficult at that point for PDP as a party to have done much better than they did. I think the PDP did very well and with time, the PDP will find its feet and do better in future elections.
On comments that he cannot win the governorship election in Kogi State because of the disagreement between him and some leaders of the PDP in the state
There is no face-off between me and the party. It is more like a misunderstanding and it is being resolved by the national leadership of the party. Then, on the issue of my not cutting the profile of a typical politician, I am not. I am a normal human being who believes in fairness, justice and equity and I treat all human beings with respect.
We are all equal before God so I don’t live the life of a larger than life person or politician. I treat everyone with respect and if people say because of my gentility and pursuit of justice and equity that I cannot win election, may God give me the opportunity to stand for the elections and we will see the result because I know that God will stay behind me to win if I stand for the election.
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