Richard Elesho
The people of Kogi State have been assured of adequate representation at the federal level if Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his Running Mate, Senator Kashim Shettima win next year’s poll.
This was disclosed by Tinubu in a message to his supporters and flood victims in Lokoja on Thursday. The APC candidate who was represented by Governor Yahaya Bello donated N100 million to cushion effects of the flood in the State.
The APC Presidential candidate, sympathized with the victims and described the loss of lives and properties as unfortunate. Thousands of people were mobilized to the Muhammodu Buhari Square, MBS to receive the candidate.
Tinubu pledged promised to build on the successes of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and to work work assiduously to confront security, revamp the economy, target double-digit GDP and increase electricity supply.
The speech, titled, “Message of Appreciation to Kogi State people”, reads in part:
“Your Excellency, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, the National Coordinator for Youths in our Presidential Campaign Council, Your Excellency, Deputy Governor Edward David Onoja, members of the State Executive Council, Distinguished Kogites.
“I extend my warmest greetings to you all. I appreciate this tumultuous crowd. You have all gathered here to demonstrate your support and solidarity for me and our Presidential Running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and of course for your hardworking Governor, who I always referred to as my son.
“Let me assure you that Kogi State will occupy a right of place in our administration. You are the Confluence State. You are important to us in the APC and the country.
“Apart from the presence of your Governor, Yahaya Bello, in the Presidential Campaign Council, one of your sons, Rt. Hon. James Abiodun Faleke is also the Secretary of our Campaign Council. So you are ably and adequately represented.
“Your voice, your demands will be heard loud and clear not only in the Campaign Council but also in the proposed administration when we are elected by the Special Grace of God.
“Let me assure you that one of the very first things we will tackle is the perennial flooding in Kogi State. Flooding is a big problem in Kogi perhaps because of its strategic location as the confluence between Rivers Niger and Benue.
“This state has particularly been ravaged this year by flooding. You have lost precious lives, you have lost properties. You have lost farmlands. Part of the reasons we have put together this special walk for Tinubu/Shettima is to draw attention to this flooding problem.
“I want to tell you today that flooding will be a thing of the past when we get to the office. We will work with the Kogi State Government to devise a permanent solution to this problem. The blessings of God exemplified in torrential rain should not be a curse on us.
“Secondly and more importantly, as I have stated clearly in our Action Plan tagged Renewed Hope, we will work assiduously to confront security, revamp the economy, target double-digit GDP, increase megawatts of electricity to power the industries.