Skip to main content

The Traffic NG

Governor Usman Ododo

Political and community leaders in Kogi East Senatorial District on Tuesday praised President Bola Tinubu and Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo for what they described as unprecedented infrastructure and socio-economic development across the district, pledging continued support for their administrations.

The commendation came as the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and the Presidential Communications Team toured major federal and state government projects in Kogi East, inspecting roads, erosion control works and educational infrastructure executed under the Tinubu and Ododo administrations.

Leading the commendation, Chairman of Ankpa Local Government Area, Alhaji Ademu Muhammed Yahaya, described the ongoing erosion control and road intervention in Ankpa as the biggest government project ever undertaken in the council’s history.

He said the project had transformed the local government, which has existed since the old Benue-Plateau and Kwara State eras, adding that residents would remain grateful to both President Tinubu and Governor Ododo for delivering tangible development.

“We cannot thank the Governor and President Bola Tinubu enough. We will show our appreciation fully during the polls,” Yahaya said.

One of the projects inspected was a 12-kilometre internal road with a 24-kilometre double-sided drainage network in Ankpa, executed by the Kogi State Government through the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL) project, supported by the World Bank.

Kogi State Commissioner for Environment and Ecological Management, Engr. Joseph Oluwasegun, said the project was designed to reclaim degraded land, combat erosion and improve agricultural productivity across the area.

According to him, the intervention includes land reclamation, channelisation and slope stabilisation aimed at protecting communities while creating more arable land for farming and other economic activities.

Oluwasegun commended Governor Ododo for consistently providing counterpart funding required to access World Bank support, describing the governor as one of the few state leaders who meet such obligations promptly.

READ ALSO: NBA’s E-Voting Push Faces Harsh Reality Check

He disclosed that more than $2 million had been disbursed to cooperative societies and rural farmers through the ACReSAL programme, helping to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods across the benefiting communities.

The commissioner added that similar projects were underway in other senatorial districts because of their positive economic impact.

Community leader and Secretary of the Olubojo Community, Elder Yahaya Samuel, said the erosion control project had ended years of hardship caused by environmental degradation and impassable roads.

He noted that the intervention had restored economic activities in the community and expressed appreciation to the state government for addressing a longstanding challenge.

The inspection team also visited Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, where it assessed the institution’s newly completed College of Health Sciences building and the new Senate Building, executed through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)’s 2024 intervention projects valued at **N643 million** and **N3.1 billion** respectively.

The delegation further inspected the ongoing construction of the 60-kilometre Iyale–Ogane–Enugu Road in Omala Local Government Area.

Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Timothy Ojoma, said the rural road project would unlock agricultural potential in the area by improving access to farms, reducing transportation costs and stimulating commerce in farming communities.

He said the road reflects the Ododo administration’s commitment to opening up rural communities and strengthening food production across the state.