By Mumini Abdulkareem
Barely 24 hours after being sworn-in as Governors of their respective
states, few of the State’s Chief Executives have hit the ground
running with laudable initiatives and actions.
The actions of these new governors no doubt have increased the hope
and belief of their citizens and Nigerians in general that the desired
change might not be long in coming. However only time would tell
whether the momentum would be sustained throughout their four-year
tenure.
That story is however not in tandem with the situation in Kwara as the
Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has been relatively silent since he
was sworn-in last week following a low key ceremony in the council
chambers of the Government House on issues of policies and
appointments.
Although Abdulrazaq met with the security agencies and civil servants
including permanent secretaries and directors as part of his first
official engagements last week, the failure to make any appointment as
regards the position of Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief
of Staff (CoS), Chief Press Secretary (CPS) among others have
heightened concerns in high quarters that the pre-election crisis of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state is already taking its
toll in governance at this early stage.
The present situation in Kwara State has made it difficult to make
enquiries on governance as there is no official spokesman of the
Governor five days after he assumed office. To make the matter more
worrisome for some of the party officials and Kwarans in general, the
new governor has been driving himself to official assignment raising
concerns about issue of security.
So far, below are the few governors who have shown they mean business.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos State): Immediately Babajide Sanwo-Olu was
sworn-in as the new Governor of Lagos State, one of the major actions
he took was the signing of an executive order on waste management,
traffic management, and Public works.
Sanwo-Olu shared the news on his Twitter handle, @jidesanwoolu. He
said,” I signed an executive order on indiscriminate refuse dumping,
traffic management and public works.”
In a video, going viral on social media, the Governor said the
executive order wasn’t meant to arrest residents but to ensure that
the state is clean.
It was also revealed that the executive order now puts the closing
time of operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency at
11:00 p.m.
This particular action of the governor according to many analysts is
most commendable bearing in mind the lack of effective waste
management that has bedeviled the state in recent time as well as the
traffic condition of the state because of its population.
Seyi Makinde (Oyo State)
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, is another governor who has hit the
ground running. During his inauguration speech, he surprised parents
and teachers in the state when he announced the abolition of school
fees. He also announced the donation of his entire salary to teachers’
pension fund.
Hear him: “I donate my entire salary to the Teachers’ Pension Fund”,
“I am not happy that Oyo State which is a pacesetter state has over
400,000 children out of school. We want enrollment to go up. We want
children out of the streets”, he added.
Not done with hitting the ground rolling, Governor Makinde also
proscribed the activities of the notorious National Union of Road
Transport Workers, NURTW, in the state.
Makinde, while declaring the activities of NURTW illegal, also
announced the immediate take-over of all motor parks in the state.
Nasir El- Rufai (Kaduna State)
During his inauguration as Governor of Kaduna State for a second term,
Malam Nasir El- Rufai swung into action by announcing an extension of
maternity leave for female public servants from three to six months.
The announcement by the governor was greeted with great joy by civil
servants and groups in the state.
One among such groups is Nigeria, Alive and Thrive. The Programme
Director, Mr. Victor Ogbodo described El-Rufai’s announcement as an
‘investment in human capital development.’
Emeka Ihedioha (Imo State)
Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha showed how controversial his tenure
could be when he reportedly ordered the demolishing of monuments
erected by his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha. Although he had denied
giving any such order, the monuments were demolished within 24 hours
of his assuming office.
Dapo Abiodun (Ogun)
One governor that has shown uncommon readiness to carry out his duty
as a Chief Executive is the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
That not enough, Governor Abiodun on his first day in office
immediately set the ball rolling when he led his team to inspect key
ministries including the Ministry of Finance, Civil Service
Commission, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
He also mooted the idea of declaring a state of emergency in the
state’s education sector.
“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 emphasized.
In pursuit of his deep-seated ambition of making Kwara State ‘a
departure from the past,’ the governor laid himself open to
constructive criticism, reiterating his position of always putting
Kwarans first in all policies and programmes of his government.
“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.
“In all our policies, programmes and actions, the people of Kwara
shall always come first,” he said.
Additional report from thewhistler.ng
