By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Civil Society Organizations and Media stakeholders in Kogi have called on Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to deploy adequate political for implementation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) through engagement in Dialogue Mechanism.

The Stakeholders who made the call on Saturday in Lokoja at a One-day Capacity Building on Permanent Dialogue Mechanism organized by Stallion Times Media Services, said all that mattered in implementing the OGP Action Plan was the governor’s political will.

They recalled that periodic Town Hall Meeting was one of the key commitments the governor made during his electioneering campaigns.

The workshop was organized by Stallion Times Media Services as part of its implementation of the Participatory Governance and Media Literacy Project tagged “Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve (G-DRIP)” in Kano and Kogi states.

The project is being implemented under the Collaboration for Media Independence and Government Accountability supported by the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism and funded by MacArthur Foundation.

In his opening remarks, Isiyaku Ahmed, Managing Director of Stallion Times and Coordinator of the project, said the Town Hall meetings would help advance citizens’ engagement in governance, a model which would also help evolve the Theory of Change using the OGP.

He urged the government to display enough political will and commitment to the implementation the Open Government Partnership state Action Plan by upholding its promise of Dialogue Mechanism.

“If this continues throughout the four-year life span of an administration, it becomes a Permanent Dialogue Mechanism and if it is yielding results, successive governments will have no option than to sustain it.

“The tool to make this happen is the OGP which is a tool for transparency and accountability with different thematic areas touching on every aspect of the economy”, he said.

In his goodwill message to the occasion, Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo on Media, Ismail Isah, said the Governor was committed to the ideals of openness in governance.

He said that it was against this backdrop that the governor had led a transparent and accountable government in the last 90 days.

One of the Co-Chairpersons of the OGP Kogi State Steering Committee, Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina, in his “Heartfelt Goodwill Message”, said the committee was committed to fostering transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance.

“This capacity building session marks a significant milestone in our collective journey towards building open, inclusive, and responsive government systems that truly serve the needs and aspirations of our citizens.

“The establishment of a robust Permanent Dialogue Mechanism is crucial in ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders, including civil society organizations, government agencies, and citizens are heard and integrated into the decision-making processes of the state”, Muraina said.

The workshop featured “Definition and Characteristics of an Effective Coalition” by Isiyaku Ahmed, MD/CEO, Stallion Times.

Also featured are “Civil Society and the OGP in Nigeria – Practice and Prospects”, and “Effective Advocacy – Concepts, Principles, Techniques, Tools and Skills by Uchenna Arisukwu, CS Adviser, OGP National Secretariat, Abuja.

The workshop had in attendance representatives Government, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Council of Ulamah, CSOs, MDAs, PWDs and the Media. (Ends)

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi has unveiled 147 Operational Vehicles for the state Vigilante Services in furtherance of his government’s determination to ensure security of every lives and property across length and breadth of the state.

The operational vehicles distributed include105 Sienna and Volkswagen Sharan patrol vehicles and 42 motorcycles at five cars and two motorcycles per Local Government Area.

In his address at the Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, venue of the unveiling, on Friday in Lokoja, Governor Ododo reiterated his administration’s commitment to safety and security of every life and property of the people.

He said that the set of operational vehicles were to enhance the operational efficiency and capability of security architecture in the state, particularly the local vigilante services for community policing.

Ododo stressed that flag off event was a further testament to his administration’s collective resolve as a government to tackle security challenges in the state head-on with enhanced speed and overall efficiency of security operatives.

The Governor hinted that the 147 operational security vehicles were the first installment of several hundreds to be provided in the next few weeks to advance the safety and security of lives and property in all parts of the state.

“This stands as one of our most significant operational responses to recent upsurge in criminal activities in some parts of the state.

“Therefore, the recent launch of the Metropolitan Quick Response in Lokoja and other major towns in the state and this unveiling of operational vehicles are among series of evolving security measures.

“These are geared towards ensuring that we keep our environment safe and to build on the solid foundation of the security architecture laid by the immediate past administration in the state”, the governor said.

Ododo reiterated the state government’s unequivocally resolve to maintain law and order in all parts of the state as it maintains consistent review of the security situation to fight against criminals in our state must be won.

“We cannot, and we will not allow criminal elements to undermine the progress and prosperity we have worked so hard to achieve in our state”, he said.

The Governor commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) for his unwavering commitment to reverse the spate of inherited security challenges in the country.

“As a government, we are in total support of Mr. President in his determination to take the fight to the terrorists in all parts of the county as we have seen in recent onslaughts to degrade cells of bandits and terrorists across Nigeria.”

“We want to further assure Mr President that we are fully committed to a comprehensive approach to address security challenges in the State, we shall bring the remnant of these criminals and their sponsors to justice in no time.”

Ododo said that the new addition to the state security master plan would involve all security agencies feeding from the credible intelligence and direct community engagement.

This, he said, would enable the people in the farms, markets, homes and every part of the community to ensure that people are safe to engage in legitimate economic activities.
(Ends)

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Chief Medical Director of Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Prof. Yahaya Isa Adagiri, has described recent allegations against his leadership as the handiwork of a syndicate of belligerent staff bent on pulling the hospital down.

Addressing newsmen in a rebuttal of the allegations in Lokoja on Thursday, the CMD said the syndicate had attacked every successive administration of the Specialist Hospital and were not prepared to spare him.

He said that his predecessor, Prof. Onumiya was fought to a standstill by the same syndicate because he opposed the fraudulent and recalcitrant staff who would stop at nothing to bend the rules to their advantage.

Prof. Adagiri pointed out that what he met on assuming office as the CMD of the tertiary health facility was a glorified General Hospital with corruption in virtually all departments and therefore, decided to reorganize and turn it around.

He said that the revenue generation in the hospital was at abysmal level while the National Health Insurance Unit smacked of high level corruption with very low enrollment adding that with a staff strength of over 500, one could hardly find 100 staff on duty each day.

The syndicate, he added, also perfected means of circumventing the facility’s electronic medical and payment records and syphoned the hospital’s finances, a practice he thwarted in his reorganization drive.

“They organized themselves into a group to give my administration negative image. They come from different trade unions but they hardly represent the interest of their unions.

“Some are unruly, redundant and always drunk. We posted some of them from Admin and Accounts departments to the NHIS unit. About two persons refused the posting.

He said that two accounting officers including one to whom over N200,000 was remitted but could only account for N32,000 were dismissed on the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee.

Three others who offences would ordinarily attract dismissal in line with the civil service regulation, he said, were given light punishment of three months suspension without pay on the advice of the state Ministry of Justice.

On the sundry allegations of fraud, hike medical charges, paucity of Medical Doctors, auction of unserviceable vehicles and tenure of office of the CMD pending before the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Adagiri said investigation had commenced.

Prof. Adagiri, a Professor of Chemical Pathology, said the status of the Hospital must be backed by infrastructure and personnel and in this regard, government has done a lot in that regard.

“In the last two years, we have not increased any of our medical charges. Former Governor Yahaya Bello spent over N1 billion to reposition and remodel this hospital. A new Psychiatrist Unit was also built among others.

“Our services are the best and lowest in cost. We charge very low. Our hospital is very busy and it is well patronized. The paucity of Medical Doctors can be attributed to the “Japa Syndrome.”

“Before the Japa Syndrome, this hospital secured approval to replace any doctor that leaves. We have the approval to replace 14 doctors but they are not just available. As part of our motivational efforts, we provide meals for doctors on duty.

“We have been invited by the ICPC and the volume of documents they are requesting is massive. So, I asked them to give us more time to gather the documents to help their investigations.” Prof. Adagiri said.

It would be recalled that a group under the agies of “Surveillance for a Better Kogi State” in a publication, accused management of the hospital led by Prof. Isah Yahaya Adagiri as CMD of extorting the public with exorbitant medical charges from their patients.

The group, in a statement by its spokesperson, Adeiza Ibrahim, lamented that the Hospital which used to be a safe haven for patients because of it accessibility and affordability had become a shadow of its former self as cost of services have gone beyond the reach of common man. (Ends)