By Ali Abare
Great things are happening again in Nasarawa State. Since the inception of the administration of His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule, precisely on May 29, 2019, the New Sheriff in Town has left no one in doubt that he is the right man for the job, a leader on a mission to sustain and surpass the political and socio-economic revolution started by his predecessors.
Determined to not only sustain the template left behind by his immediate predecessor, His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule is poised to even exceed all expectations as he leads the state to the Next Level. As a student of history, Governor Sule is quite aware of the sweeping reforms initiated by the previous government led by Senator Umaru Tanko Al-makura, aimed at instilling prudence, transparency and accountability in governance, which have so far led to tremendous development strides that can be physically verified across the state.
At the solemn occasion marking his inauguration into office, His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule, while acknowledging the contributions of the founding fathers of the state who laid the building blocks for the development of Nasarawa State, declared his determination to continue on this foundation for a greater Nasarawa State.
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His resolve to prune down Ministries, Departments and Agencies, in line with current economic realities, aimed at reducing the cost of governance, will not only consolidate on the prudence orchestrated by the last administration but will also set free needed funds to be channelled towards capital projects to the benefit of state and people.
Barely a month into his administration, His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule has hit the ground running. Coming with a vast experience and top level management skills derived and honed from decades of exemplary service in the private sector, Governor Sule staunchly believes that security and peace are non negotiable if his cardinal objective to industrialize the state must see the light of day.
Knowing fully well the negative consequences of security breaches on the overall development of the state, the new administration is placing special emphasis on the security of the state. With security topping the philosophy and general directive principles of his administration, Governor Sule has so far left no one in doubt about his determination to consolidate on the already existing community-based conflict resolution mechanism.
Since coming into office, His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule has held several high level meetings both within the state and at the national level towards finding ways to address the prevailing security challenges with roots traceable to problems of idleness, misinformation, rumour mongering, ethnic chauvinism and religious bigotry.
During a recent security council meeting at the Shendam Road Government House and while acknowledging the complementary role traditional rulers play in maintaining security in their respective domains, being custodians of the peoples culture, values and customs, Governor Sule restated that his administration will propose appropriate legislations to give traditional rulers specific roles and areas of responsibility, particularly in the maintenance of security, in line with the community-based conflict resolution strategy. This, the governor said he will do in conjunction with the State House of Assembly.
In line with global democratic tradition, Governor Sule, while being inaugurated into office, highlighted on what his administration will seek to achieve within the first one hundred days. Among the goals set by the new administration to be achieved include setting up the State Economic Management and Investment Advisory Council, reviewing and reforming the civil service structure, review the payment of pension and gratuity and commencement of payment.
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Others are, visiting the payment of salary arrears with a view to commence payment, completion of the Lafia Cargo Airport, Kwandere, commencement of the construction of rural roads in each of the three senatorial districts, commencement of rural electrification in, at least, three villages in the state, commencement of the construction of 2km solar power street projects in each of the thirteen local government areas, commencement of the construction of Technology Innovation Hubs in Lafia, Akwanga, Keffi and Karu.
Also, provision of state wide free medical outreach, screening and training of youth for small scale agricultural and trading enterprises in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria, supply of fertilizer and other inputs to farmers for the current farming season, construction of some classroom blocks in the local governments as well as executing an agreement with, at least another major investor in agricultural development in the state.
Already, a committee for the actualization of these objectives has since been put in place, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe. Even though the administration is barely a month in office, some of these goals have already seen the light of the day. A high powered committee put in place to review and reform the state civil service has already been inaugurated with the committee swinging into action.
The governor has also just concluded interacting with heads of ministries, departments and agencies, ostensibly to obtain first hand information on the state of affairs with the MDAs, preparatory to repositioning them for maximum efficiency.
