Ime Akpan
Twenty-nine state governors and their deputies took oaths of office on Wednesday, May 29 in the various state capitals.
While 12 were elected for fresh four-year mandate, 17 will be rounding off another four-year second term in 2023.
As it is usual with such events, the governors who emerged from different political party platforms rolled out their programmes for and promises to the people.
In Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel who won a second term mandate on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) promised to beat his first term record.
Emmanuel, who listed his administration’s achievement to include the establishment of a state-owned airline, Ibom Air, promised he would not fail the electorate.
“We are the first state in the whole of Nigeria and indeed Africa to have a commercial airline business.
“The Ibom Air today stands as a testament to visionary leadership and an acute determination to prove that what was once thought to be impossible can be made possible.
“This airline will prove the cynics wrong and show the world that a viable commercial airline can be achieved,” he said.
He also listed the achievements recorded in all the sectors of the economy especially the industrial sector in the first term despite the economic recession in the country and lean resources available to the state but maintained that his second term will be more prosperous.
“In my 2019 Manifesto which we christened Completion Agenda, I emphasized eight major policy thrusts: industrialization, aviation development, security, infrastructure, small and medium scale enterprises, human capacity development, agriculture, and rural and riverine area development.
“Most of these areas also formed the basis of our first term policy direction. In our Completion Agenda, we will raise the bar of performance in all these areas and lift our state to such an enviable height that it will be the pride of the nation,” he said.
He promised not to let the people stressing that he would continue to serve the people as their servant-leader, in absolute humility and devotion to their needs and desires as well as appropriate the state resources to improve their living their condition and secure the future for the children.
The governor also extended the right hand of fellowship to the opposition saying the “fleeting passion of politics” should not be allowed to “break the cords of our brotherhood.”
“As I said in my victory speech, I extend again my hands of fellowship and bond of friendship to my brothers and sisters on the opposite side of the political divide.
“I call on them to join me in building a State that we all, irrespective of political affiliations will be proud to call our home.
“We went to the polls as brothers and sisters and as the 6th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, said in his second inaugural speech on March 4th 1865, ‘We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection’”.
He said he and other politicians “remain the proud sons and daughters of Akwa Abasi Ibom State.”
Emmanuel accepted the fact that the political atmosphere in the state during the 2019 general elections “was poisoned by the manufactured instrument of division, where political power was defined as a matter of life and death, where certain tactics and approaches employed by the other side, challenged and called to question the foundational core of what we are known for: a peaceful and hospitable people.”
In Kwara State, the new governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq who won the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), pledged to run an open door policy that will usher in new economic growth and equal opportunities for everyone in the state.
“In all our policies, programmes and actions, the people of Kwara shall always come first.
“Today, I invite you all to join hands with us in government to repair and rebuild Kwara. I invite constructive criticism and urge you all to utilise our open door policy to communicate ideas and suggestions to us.”
“What we stand for is to empower our people. Make society and life better. Strengthen family values. Improve efficiency and service delivery in our public services.
“What we have lacked before now are dependable and sustainable development plans, credible policies and policy discipline, accountability and transparency, a good sense of social justice and ability to expand social and political spaces that will promote tolerance, equality and innovation.
“Revamp our education to produce the best minds that will in turn make Kwara second to none. Promote industry, agriculture, technology and social services and open up new vistas of opportunities that will promote the common good. These are areas where our government will make a difference.”
“We are confident that we shall, together, make Kwara great again through prudent deployment of resources, involving the people in policy making, interrogating past decisions only to the extent that they enable us to move forward,” he said.
The governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike who was sworn in for a second term said his administration, in the first lap, did not complete and accomplish some of its mission.
However, he said he would use the next four years to consolidate and improve the fortunes of the people.
“The next four years are pivotal as we consolidate on the progressive foundations of the last four years to take Rivers State through a greater era of achievements and progress, because making Rivers State the greatest State in Nigeria is a task that must be accomplished.
“Our economy is great but it should be greater and made more beneficial to all. And so we will continue to grow our economy, expand our tax base, provide a friendly business environment and attract foreign and local investments to create more jobs and empower our people.
“We will continue on the economic trajectory of fiscal discipline, prudence, prioritization of capital projects over recurrent and giving value for money spent in the delivery of services. We know we are developing, but it’s better and more result oriented if approached in an organized and strategic form.
“We will therefore adopt a holistic approach to development by partnering with relevant national and international agencies and expertise to initiate and implement a 25-year Marshall Plan for economic transformation and development to guide and accelerate the future development of our State.
“We are already doing great to close existing deficit in infrastructure but we need to deliver more roads, bridges and modern jetties to connect our communities, improve our economy, accelerate development and improve general well-being of our people. This we will do with greater vigour and commitment.
“For too long, we have relied mostly on a single vanishing revenue source to fund development. We cannot continue in this economic folly, lest we remain forever vulnerable to the ripples, uncertainties and miseries of the mono-product based national economy.
“Apart from oil and gas, Rivers State also has a vast agricultural potential, which has remained largely untapped for decades. It is about time we embraced green revolution as a strategic measure for achieving economic diversification, job creation and food security for the State and our people, and we are just ready to do that.
“Our role will span from granting interest free loans to providing training, land preparation and logistical support to willing youths to invest in commercial agriculture and allied businesses.
“We will establish regional agricultural development belts in partnership with private firms to advance commercial farming in cash and other crops and invest in agro-allied industries and processing plants across these belts,” said Wike.
In Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who won a re-election on PDP platform promised to deliver a purposeful leadership and good governance as he extended hands of fellowship to groups and individuals across the state.
He expressed appreciation to the people of the state for giving him another mandate of four years.
He said different programmes, policies and projects were initiated during his first tenure, which impacted positively on the lives of residents.
He added that all viable projects would be sustained with corrections made in areas that needed alignments and assured of continued prudence and people-centred governance.
Tambuwal solicited for public support irrespective of political affiliation, noting that interest in progress of the state should be paramount.
He listed his first term achievements to include the rehabilitation and construction of hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure across the state.
Meanwhile, he said a committee for the implementation of newly approved minimum wage had been set up, while approval for tertiary institutions and health workers salary scale was made.
He said the great task is to keep the people safe amidst so much poverty, division.
In Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of the APC said his government “is the government of everyone who lives in Kaduna State.”
The governor who announced the approval of six months maternity leave for female public servants pledged to continue the vigorous implementation of “our governance agenda of Putting People First.”
“During our first term, we signalled and then demonstrated that we stand firmly with ordinary people. We put the needs of ordinary people at the centre of governance. In education and health, we have shown a commitment with investments to expand the access of ordinary people to these public goods.
“We began to reverse the legacy of neglect we inherited in education, starting the onerous task of upgrading the over 4200 public primary schools in the state. We are supplying school furniture to end the inherited embarrassment of pupils sitting on bare floors.
“Aside from fixing the learning environment, we took bold steps to improve teaching standards. We made basic education truly free and have made education free and compulsory for girls up to the end of senior secondary school. We will continue to fix existing schools and build new classrooms where necessary, and support our teachers to deliver decent public education.
“In the health sector, the focus on strengthening and expanding primary care will continue. It is the best way to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and bring basic care closer to the people. Our commitment to universal health coverage will continue. Therefore, we shall accelerate the implementation of the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme as a priority programme.
“We will complete the supply chain transformation programme in the health sector that has improved the availability and reduced prices of drugs in our health facilities, we will also emphasize routine immunisation to reduce the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases on our children. I am pleased to announce that just yesterday, our state executive council approved six months maternity leave for our female public servants.
“This encourages the healthy development of infants through prolonged breastfeeding, among other benefits. Mothers in our state are also reminded that children up to the age of five get free, regular medical check-ups in public hospitals. Please take advantage of this,” he said.
El-Rufai called on “every resident of Kaduna State to join hands with us in the hard tasks that lie ahead.”
“Back in March 2019, we all made our democratic choices, and freely expressed our preferences.
“Whatever our partisan affiliations and however we might have voted, we are all compatriots and fellow citizens.
“It is time to put politics aside and work together in the urgent task of improving the lives of all our people and keeping them safe. Amidst so much poverty, division is an unaffordable luxury,” he added.
He also announced that the government had spent much on internal security operations, supporting security agencies with equipment, vehicles and other logistics and funding.
“The huge resources that are expended on these internal security operations and containing conflict can be better directed towards improving lives in peaceful communities.
“We have also established the Kaduna State Peace Commission, chaired by Reverend Dr. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, secretary-general of the Anglican Communion Worldwide and former arch-bishop of Kaduna.
“Beyond boots on the ground, the most sustainable guarantee of peace is the willingness of communities to live in harmony.
“Let us unite in a common endeavour to make ours a state of peace and concord, working to promote equality of opportunity for every resident. Let us cherish our diversity while embracing equal citizenship, the rule of law, and respect for the lives and livelihoods of all who call Kaduna State home,” said.
The governor assured that he would continue to do his utmost to unite the state and rid its communities of strife.
“The pain of loss is unbearable, and it has been felt too frequently by too many of our fellow citizens. We must replace the legacy of division and violence with one of peaceful, collective endeavour in progressive undertakings.
“We should not maroon ourselves on the desert islands of identity politics, or neglect the obligations of our common humanity. Strife is not our destiny, and neither is division preordained.
“Let us come together in the ever more urgent task of human progress, to educate every child; to create jobs; to care for the sick; to protect life and property; to comfort the afflicted and to strive for peace in our time,” he added.
First term governor of Imo State, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha who was elected on the platform of the PDP said his vision is to make Imo one of the top three most developed state economies in Nigeria by year 2025.
Ihedioha who made the declaration during the inaugural lecture at Ahiajioku Convention Centre, Owerri said: “Leveraging on the abundant human capital and natural resources the state is endowed with, we are capable of building an economy anchored on good governance, wealth creation, rule of law and sound management of the state resource.
“My mission is to rebuild, reposition and transform Imo State into a modern ecosystem for education, agriculture, industry, tourism, culture, sports, human capital development, entertainment, science and technology, thereby creating an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth and quality life for our people.”
However, Ihedioha sympathised with the people of the state for what he called “debased and desecrated governance,” of the past APC-led administration in the state and promised to remedy the damage done.
He solicited the cooperation of all stakeholders in the rebuilding process, pointing out that appropriate steps would be taken so as to restore faith and confidence in government.
“The outgoing administration degraded and destroyed most of our institutions and values.
“The legislature, the judiciary and the civil service, all suffered grievous assaults, with the House of Assembly made redundant and court orders routinely disregarded.
“But Imo State will, as always, endure. Imo will revive and prosper again.
“We urge you to be courageous in this conviction, for we are not captives of fear.
“We will not waste a day getting to work to renew the Imo promise of our founding fathers. Therefore, we will take appropriate measures to restore faith and confidence in government.
“I stand ready to personally interface and facilitate with any person or company willing to establish business in Imo. Together, we shall achieve the Imo of our dreams. Imo shall rise again,” he said.
In Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC promised free and compulsory basic education for all school-age children in the state
Ganduje who made the declaration in his acceptance speech, shortly after being sworn for a second term said tertiary education for Kano indigenes will also be subsidised, as government consolidates on the achievements so far recorded in healthcare delivery.
Besides, he said his administration would establish a new company known as “Kano State Small Town Water Supply Agency” to cater for the water needs of communities in the rural areas.
