By BERNARD BALOGUN (BenPino)

Since the assumption of office as the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ododo, the State has regularly been in the news for a number of pleasant reasons.

The Issue of percentage salaries is foregone. Just tune to TVC News and Channels TV, you are likely to be confronted with pleasant news of ongoing road constructions, or debilitating school structures being aggressively renovated in the three senatorial districts.

In the area of healthcare, the Ododo led administration has rejuvenated and hugely improved that sector phenomenally. I am not ashamed to say his predecessor, my brother, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello did his best.

In fact, l have this testimony to make. What is today known and called Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja was at inception called General Hospital, Lokoja. Then at a time Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.

I should know. Lokoja is my place of birth. I enjoyed, as a child who grew in Lokoja, free medical services there, courtesy the then Northern Nigeria Government (NNG for short) where our father, and grandfather to Patricia Balogun, the incoming Vice Chairman of Lokoja LG council, was a notched civil servant in the PWD of old. I am not in the field of medicine but from my superficial view, l noticed at a time, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Lokoja deteriorated so badly that in a short space l lost close friends, two of them, in that facility. Then sadly, l inwardly consciously renamed the facility ? (FMC, not FTH) a slaughter house.

However, l am proud to say all that negative perception had changed since the coming of Governor Usman Ododo. This is just one of the three reasons that changed and welcomed my decision-premise. August 2024 my blood brother had a traffic accident around New Layout Lokoja. He did not just have fractured but his bones were broken in various joints. This was at a time medical doctors were on strike in public health facility across the country. My brother was in a terribly bad shape. For me, l had no faith in the government facilities whether be it the Specialist Hospital or FMC in Lokoja. So he was rushed to a reputable private clinic in Lokoja, who brought his condition under stable control. I give it Solucio Clinic.

After the medical doctors called off their strike, l was prevailed upon to transfer him to the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja. Gradually, the idea of taking him to Abuja did not sound stimulating or appealing any more, since l was assured that one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in the country would attend to him. That Governor Ododo had encouraged him to transfer his services to Kogi State Government. His name was mentioned. Wow, brilliant. That sounded attractive and interesting. Of course, l know Prof since his days in Kaduna and he had successfully handled a complex bone surgery of a young man in 2004. That young man had a traffic accident somewhere around Askoro in Abuja. Today that young man is fine and has since relocated to the US. Anyway the nomenclature of FMC has since changed to FTH, so also the services rendered in there.

The long & short of It all is that Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Lokoja has infused in me a positive perception. The doctors, nurses and other auxiliary health workers are not only committed but they truly understand their work. For me, this drastic paradigm shift is largely attributed to the leadership quality the current governor, ozi aniEbira oboro-oboro has brought into governance in Kogi State and the resilience of the Management at the facility.

Imagine this novelty. I can say, without any fear of contradiction that Governor Usman Ododo is workers friendly. The first Governor ever in Nigeria history to have increased workers salaries and equally granted workers ?tax-holiday? for one year. How else do you define or describe a people-friendly Governor than this?

I am not patronising His Excellency unduly but l think Ododo deserves a round of locomotive claps. Akoro Inda.

Now, the main issue. Tomorrow, Saturday, October 19, 2024 has been slated for Local Government elections across Kogi State. The good and industrious people of Lokoja LGA as expected will troop out to the various polling booths, to elect officials, who will run the Lokoja LG council for, l think, three years.

The choice of our brother, the indefatigable, purposeful, pragmatic but unassuming Chairmanship candidate, Comr Hon Abdullahi Adamu, and my daughter, a goal-getter par excellence, and a team player, Hon Patricia Balogun, as Vice-Chairman are truly remarkable and a wonderful par that will take LGA to another level.

I have no doubt the Adamu/Balogun ticket is a fantastic choice, a remarkably ?people-based? mandate. They will try to match the purposeful records of our pragmatic Governor Ododo in many ways.

I pray the good, homely and friendly people of Lokoja, Lokoja my proud place of birth, the place where my late elder brother, popularly known and called ?BBI? was born and of course the town where Patricia was also born.

Patricia na Lokoja pikin well, well. She and Comrade Adamu no go fail Lokoja. They will work assiduously for an egalitarian society that Lokoja deserves.

Kogi State is work in progress.

?Bernard Balogun (BenPino) is a Kogi indigene.

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