In Kogi, Tinubu, Ododo infrastructure strides earn commendations, promises of 2027 payback 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governors Usman Ododo’s investments in impactful infrastructure and people – oriented initiatives attract commendations with promises of payback in the 2027 general election, recent Renewed Hope Ambassadors enabled media tour of Kogi’s three senatorial districts by journalists reveals.

By Ayorinde Oluokun

With its size, location at the intersection between the Northern and Southern part of the country as well as resource endowment,  Kogi is  uniquely positioned among the 36 states in the country.  As discovered during a recent three-day Renewed Hope Ambassadors enabled media tour ,  efforts to actualize that potentials of the state for the benefits of the people are on with infrastructural developments and initiatives spanning road, health, education, agriculture, environment among others across the three senatorial districts of the state.

As discovered by a group of over 40 senior journalists led by the presidential media team during the tour, riding on the strides of his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo is gradually redefining the social economic circumstances of Kogi with investments life changing education, health and other infrastructure projects.

But as acknowledged during the tour by officials of the state government, the strides of the Ododo government infrastructure investments across Kogi are not only being complimented but being enabled by more resources coming into the coffers of the state courtesy of the reforms of President Bola Tinubu. Thus, it was not a surprise that at every stop on during the media tour, government officials, community leaders and generality of the people not only speak about the benefits of specific projects to their communities, but their commitment to reelection of President Tinubu for another term of office in the 2027 elections.

“The people of Kogi really appreciate Mr. President because we know how he’s making resources available to our governor to give us all these dividends of democracy.  And the good thing is that the governor does not pretend in letting us know that he’s getting all these resources from Mr. President,” Kogi State Commissioner for Works, Barr. Abdulsalami Ozigi Deedat said during inspection of projects by journalists during the tour.

He spoke after the journalists had inspected the ongoing rehabilitation of Abuja-Lokoja-Benin Highway, a major artery that linked the state with other parts of the country as well as completed and ongoing projects funded by Tertiary Education Fund, TETFUND inside Confluence University of Technology Science and Technology, Osara.

Deedat speaking to journalists at his right is Dare and (left) Ogara

Speaking at the Kabba Junction section which is also the starting point of the Lokoja – Benin Expressway,  Dedaat, explained that the major expressway which was abandoned and had been in a very deplorable condition is now receiving due attention from President Tinubu.   He noted that the road project is now being reconstructed with concrete technology to ensure its longevity.  “The Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road is not a new road. It’s a road that has been existing, but it was completely abandoned by previous administration. But the President we have now is giving it attention as if it’s a new road. You can see construction going on everywhere. And this is what he is doing all over Kogi State. So, we must appreciate Mr President because what we are seeing here is his work,” he told journalists who also saw the heavy-duty equipment deployed for work on the road.

Also speaking to journalists at the section of the road, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-West), Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai noted that the intervention of the President part of the ongoing efforts of his administration o ensure seamless connection with all parts of the country.  Journalists also noted that the contractor has already completed the building of a bridge intended to solve the gridlock that used to characterize that section of the road.   “Just like the other projects, this road too is going to be concrete pavement. It is a strategic road because Kogi is the confluence of so many states. And so, there is heavy traffic movement here,” Yakasai said.

Building funded by TETFUND inside CUSTECH

At CUSTECH, the Director of Administration Mohammed Asuku Audu told the media team that the Federal Government interventions through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has made the institution founded in 2020, one of the fastest growing among its peers in the country.  He listed projects undertaken by TETFUND in the institution to include   construction of the Faculty of Science Complex, Faculty of Environmental Sciences Complex, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences Complex as well as the Faculty of Anatomy. He said TETFund had also supported the institution through the 2025 Special Intervention (Renewed Hope Initiative) by the construction of the female hostel, Project Maintenance Intervention as well as in academic and research support. Audu added that TETFUND also provided the equipment for the institution’s Faculty of Engineering.

The Director further told journalists that the Ododo administration has, like its predecessor, been making funds available for the development of the university. According to him, the University which started with 240 students in 2020 now has over 6000 students across its nine faculties. He added that with the funding from the Federal Government and TETFUND, the University is actualizing its 20-year development plan. “We’re getting funding from the state government and TETFUND. So, all the plans we line up, we are actualizing them,” Ahmed said. He added that students of the institution are also benefitting from NELFUND.

Barefoot Renewable Energy College

Journalists on the tour were also at the Barefoot Renewable Energy College and the Green Hydrogen Research & Demonstration Pilot Plant established in the CUSTECH by the Federal Government through the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN). When completed, the facility, like others being delivered across the country is expected to play a leading role in Nigeria’s energy transition by equipping youths with practical skills in renewable energy technologies. The goal is to produce a skilled workforce capable of installing, operating, and maintaining clean energy systems.

“The Barefoot Renewable Energy College is to train the next generation of Nigerian renewable experts –from solar installations to technology and different parts of renewable value chain. And this is one of such colleges across many federal and state universities. The Energy Commission of Nigeria and Rural Electrification Agency are running different projects across universities and colleges of technology aimed at training the next set of Nigerians who would run renewable across the country,” Otega Ogra, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital Engagement, Strategy and New Media told journalists.

Speaking on the campus of the institution, Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication who is also the leader of the delegation noted that the development of the university is being aided by more funds accruing to the Kogi state as a result of the courageous reform and policies of President Tinubu. He also commended Governor Ododo for not departing from the footsteps of his predecessor in his commitment to the development of the university: “When you look at the cardinal points of the eight – point Agenda of the President, education stands on a solid place in that list. There is no better adroit testimony to that than what we have seen at the Confluence University of Science and Technology.

Speaking in the same vein, Deedat said the infrastructural development at the university, including the five kilometer well –paved dual carriage road with drainage and streetlights all over the institution could not have been achieved without the increased resources from the federal government.  “This is one of the dividends of the decisions taken courageously by Mr. President – the removal of subsidy. If we don’t have funds, we couldn’t have been able to get this.  So, on behalf of the entire Kogites, we sincerely appreciate Mr. President for giving us the resources,” the Commissioner said.

The Kogi Commissioner of Works added that this is one of the reasons the people of the state will ensure return of the President to office in the 2027 elections. “We have no reason not to allow Mr. President to continue doing what he’s doing for Kogi State University, not to allow him to continue doing what he’s doing on Abuja – Lokoja- Okene- Benin Road, and particularly what he’s doing in Ajaokuta, where we have all hope that by the special grace of God, before the end of this year, Ajaokuta will bounce back,” he said.

GYB Model Science Secondary School, Nagazi,

The media team also at GYB Model Science Secondary School, Nagazi also in Kogi Central Senatorial District of the state. The school, commissioned in April this year by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, was one of such model schools established across the three senatorial districts of the state by the Ododo administration.  The Nazazi model school, currently has 1,769 students, consists of 38 classrooms, modern science laboratories, a computer-based testing centre with about 300 computer systems and workshops for technical education.

The model schools were designed to strengthen science education and prepare students for admission into specialised institutions such as CUSTECH, Yusuf Hussein Agogoudi, the principal of the school told journalists.

Also linked to CUSTECH is Kogi State Hospital which started as a public-private partnership venture but has now been fully taken over by the state government.  Apart from providing top notch medical treatment that has helped reverse medical tourism in the state, the 300-bed hospital has now been designated a teaching hospital to serve CUSTECH, according to Dr. Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza, Kogi Commissioner for Health. “This hospital is also going to serve as a teaching complex for the recently accredited MBBS program at the university in Osara. Hopefully, by August next year, we should be welcoming our clinical students in the state-owned university into this facility.”

He added that hostels for students as well as residential quarters for lecturers and other workers are already completed ahead of the expected arrival of the medical students. Adeiza told journalists that the hospital also has MRI, CT scan other complement of the radio diagnostics as well as the only hospital-based hyperbaric oxygen treatment chamber in the country.  “The CMD will also attest to the fact that since inception of this hospital, there has also been increase in the numbers of surgeries being carried out. Let me also add to us that it also has a well-equipped renal dialysis unit within this hospital facility.

CUSTECH Teaching Hospital

He added that Governor Ododo has been able to attract more doctors to the facility with the introduction of special intervention allowance of 300,000 naira for every doctor working in the state in October 2025. Adeiza said this has led to 30 per cent increase in number of doctors employed at the hospital.

The Ododo administration has also embarked on efforts to boost rural development, agriculture, transportation across the state with the construction of feeder roads and a modern market.  Some of the road projects inspected by journalists in Kogi Central senatorial district include the nine-kilometre Okaito-Obagede-Ozouri road, which has a 3.1-kilometre spur to Ojukutu community. The road, which included four bridges ended years of isolation suffered by several communities, Deedat told journalists during the inspection. He added that the road has facilitated access to markets, farmlands and other social services for residents and has also linked the communities directly to the federal highway leading to Kabba and Ekiti States.

The Commissioner said the Ododo administration is committed to linking rural communities to major highways through massive feeder road construction to stimulate economic activities and improve the living conditions of residents.

Network of road in Kogi Central

The media team also inspected the Obangede-Ihima road project as well as the internal concrete roads linking several communities in Ihima local government area. “We are bringing quality roads to rural communities because that is where the majority of our people live,” Deedat said after taking journalists round the inner roads constructed with concrete pavement, the major bridges constructed in the area as well as the erosion control project points. He also acknowledged that increased federal allocation helped the state in delivery of the projects.

Speaking to journalists during the inspection, the Obobanyi of Ohionwa Clan in Ihima, HRH Dr. Ahmed Jimoh Eneji heaped praises on the Ododo’s administration for the road intervention in his community. “This road was constructed around 1982 or 1983, and since then it deteriorated completely. Today, it has become like a mini-Lagos. We appreciate the government for remembering our community,” the traditional ruler said.

As part of its bid to boost commerce in Lokoja, the state capital, the state government is building an Ultra-Modern Market with 1,800 shops, 36 warehouses, cold rooms, a clinic, fire station, bank, security complex and other modern facilities. The International Market being which is being built on 16 hectares of land is already at 50% completion and slated and would help to decongest the existing international market in Lokoja on completion, according to Deedat.

TETFUND funded project in Kogi State University

In Kogi West Senatorial District, the team inspected the Kogi State University in Kabba where they saw the remarkable transformation the institution has undergone in just two years of its existence as a result of investments in its infrastructural development by the Ododo administration complimented by the Federal Government.

The media team also inspected Primary Health Centre in Morokere Amoro community. Kingsley Fanwo, Kogi Commissioner for Information told journalists that 180 of such PHCs are already in use across all the political wards in the state. “We’re working on over 250. Over 200 have been delivered and180 are already in use.”

The Commissioner revealed that the centres have staff quarters and are equipped with solar power to ensure that they have reliable power supply always. “We also have a solar fridge, to store the vaccines,” he said. While giving further information on Kogi’s investments in health sector,  Fanwo revealed that the state has about 30 ambulances in operation across the state.

Fanwo also acknowledged that the strides of the state in the health sector have been accomplished through the support of President Tinubu. “We want to commend Mr. President. Most of these projects are also powered by the National Primary Healthcare Centre, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Health. The synergy between the state and federal government has brought healthcare closer to the grassroots. We thank Mr. President for always supporting us to be able to deliver on our mandate to the people.”

The media team also inspected the s network of inner roads in Kabba-Bunu and the erosion control project in Kabba under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in mid arid areas put together by Governor Ododo. Fanwo also told journalists that state has enacted an education law that made it an offence for parents not to enroll their children of school age in school. According to him, the law is predicated on free education being offered by the state.  “In Kogi State, education from primary school to secondary school is free. You don’t pay for any internal or external examinations, including WAEC the state government pays for the students.”

Fanwo speaking during the tour

In Yagba West Local Government Area of the state, the media team inspected a 15 Kilometre – asphalted internal road network, with drainage, a newly – built Primary Health Centre as well as the Kabba -Egbe – Omuaran – Ilorin Road being reconstructed by the Federal Government.

In Egbe, a community leader, Adetoye Bolaji told journalists that the 15- kilometre  road which connected his community with others was not only impassable, but the drainages were blocked before the intervention of Governor Ododo. However, he said the Governor did not waste time in rehabilitating the road to the highest standard possible on assumption of office.   Bolaji also commended the Governor for prompt payment of salaries and pensions and for the steps he has taken to tackle the security challenges confronting the area.

He also praised the Ododo administration for its inclusiveness, noting that the local government has two of its sons serving in the state executive council.  “This governor is attending to our security. He has been here on security issues several times. We are grateful. For many years, we had no commissioner in the executive council of Kogi State. But during the time of Ahmed Usman Ododo, we not only had one in Yagba West, but two,” he said.

Network of road in Egbe

The traditional leader noted that the Governor’s accomplishments in the community were due to the support he has been receiving from President Tinubu and the community will show gratitude for it in the 2027 elections.  “When it is time for us to show it in Yagba West, all our votes, without exception is going to Ahmed Usman Ododo and Jagaban, Ahmed Bola Tinubu,” he promised.

Speaking in the same vein, Joseph Oluwasegun, Kogi Commissioner for Commissioner for Environment and Ecological Management who is from the local government noted that President Tinubu has appointed two persons from the area into key positions. He identified them as Abidemi Adeyemi, the Executive Director, Lower Niger River Basin Authority and Dr. Muyi Aina, the Chief Executive Officer of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.  “The multiplier effect of that appointment is the empowerment programme that Dr. Muyi Aina is running on monthly basis in this community. So, we need to use everything we have to appreciate the president,” he said.  The Commissioner also hailed the President for creating the regional development zones to spur development across the country.

The Chairman of Yagba West Local Government who also doubles as the ALGON chairman Kogi State, Olokun Tosin also praised the President for his interventions, particularly on federal roads that cut across the state.  “And all we can use to appreciate him that we have is just our vote. So, we’ll appreciate him through our vote,” he said.

Ongoing construction of Kabba -Egbe – Omuaran – Ilorin Road,

Speaking on the ongoing construction of the Kabba -Egbe – Omuaran – Ilorin Road, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Fredrick Nwabufo noted that the road has been abandoned in a dilapidated state over the years. But he noted that President Tinubu took up the challenge of rehabilitating the road as part of his ongoing infrastructural development intended to boost the economy, facilitate smoother connection and create jobs across the country.

In Kogi East, the media team inspected a 12-kilometre internal road, with a 24-kilometre double -side drainage network undertaken by the Governor Ododo Administration in Ankpa Local Government Area.

Kogi Commissioner for Environment and Ecological Management told journalists that the road network was a legacy project implemented by the state government through the  Agro – Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL) – a World Bank counterpart-funding project.

The commissioner, who also chairs the state ACReSAL, said the project that comprises land reclamation, stabilization and channelization is a strategic intervention by the state government to reclaim degraded environment, control erosion and free more land for agricultural and other economic purposes, thereby enhancing food sufficiency and security.

He said in demonstration of his commitment to the realization of the project, Governor Ododo has always ensured prompt payment the state’s counterpart funds. The Commissioner added that the Governor is also giving the same priority to other ACReSAL projects across the state. “The World Bank will only release its funds when the state government provides its counterpart funds for compensation and other ancillaries. Governor Ododo is one of the governors that do not default in the provision of counterpart funds,” the commissioner said.

He added that the project has improved livelihoods in the area and reduced poverty through the micro-loan component, which rural farmers and cooperative groups have immensely benefited from.  According to the Commissioner, over $2m has been disbursed to cooperative groups in the community through the intervention, thereby reducing poverty and improving their livelihoods.

Oluwasegun also revealed that the intervention as a campaign promise to the people of Kogi East, which Governor Ododo has kept. He added that similar projects are ongoing in other senatorial zones of the state because of their impact and the multiplier effect for the citizen.

Ankpa road

Also speaking to journalists at the site of the project, the Executive Chairman of Ankpa Local Government Alhaji Ademu Muhammed Yahaya described it as the largest government intervention ever in the area.  He commended President Tinubu and the state government over federal and state governments’ legacy projects in the state. “Ankpa Local Government is an old local government. It was in the Benue-Plateau State and later in the old Kwara State before the creation of Kogi State. But I can categorically say the project is the biggest and most impactful by any administration for this local government,” he said.  “We cannot thank the Governor and President Bola Tinubu enough. We will show our appreciation fully during the polls,” he said.

Also, a community leader and Secretary of Olubojo Community, Elder Yahaya Samuel, said the project had relieved people of the area of years of hardship and economic loss arising from erosion menace and dilapidated road. He expressed profound gratitude to the state government for the intervention and promised President Tinubu and other APC candidates in the area of massive votes in the 2027 polls.

The media team also inspected interventions of TETFUND at the Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba. The Director of Planning of the University, Architect Kayode told journalists that TETFUND had initiated four projects in the institution in the past three years: “Two of them are academic offices. The first one is academic offices for Faculty of Agriculture. The second one is academic offices for Faculty of Arts and Humanities. And then we have two iconic projects. The first one is the Senate Building, the new Senate building for the university, which has over 100 offices. The Senate chamber is there, sitting close to 400 persons, with the state-of-the-art media equipment. And then we also have the council chamber, also in the Senate building, sitting about 40 persons.

He said the second iconic project is the 500-seating capacity lecture theater at the College of Health Sciences.”  He added that the staff and the students are also motivated to embark on more research to compete with their peers in Nigeria and outside of the country because of the grants they are now getting from TETFUND.

Students at the University, he said, are also benefitting from the NELFUND loan programme of the Tinubu’s administration. “The university appreciates the effort of the federal government on that NELFUND programme. And both staff and the student parents are happy with it because it is a relief on the side of the parents who cannot duly pay their children’s school fees,” he said.

Ongoing construction of Iyale–Ogane-Enugu Road

The media team also inspected the Iyale-Ogane-Enugu Road – a 60-kilometer rural road under construction in Dekina Local Government Area. The State Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr Timothy Ojoma, said the road construction is a reflection of the state government’s determination to open up agrarian rural areas, boost production and enhance commerce in the state: “Most of the people you are seeing here are farmers, and their farm produce needs to come from the interior to the market and to where people will take them from. Without road, obviously, whatever they produce won’t be of any benefit to the people that are farming and the people that need the crops.”

He also credited the Governor with ending the frequent herder farmer clashes in area, just like in other parts of the state.  “Security is one of the cardinal aspects of Governor Ododo’s government.  His approach and responses to any flashpoint anywhere in Kogi State is always very, very rapid. One instance is the case of one school that bandits attacked recently. Four people were taken, and within a few days, they were rescued, alive, sound, and healthy. That is our approach to security in the entire state. This place is not exempted,” he said.

Amodu Joseph Silvas, a resident of Otutulu, one of the farming connected by the Iyale–Ogane-Enugu Road described the project as a fulfillment of prayers of people of the area for many years.

He also commended President Tinubu for creating the enabling environment that made the project possible.

“We are grateful to President Tinubu for supporting the governor. We also appreciate Governor Ododo for using the resources available to him to remember communities like ours. Some governors receive funds but do not use them for projects that directly benefit the people,” he added.

Tope Ajayi speaking during

Tope Ajayi, the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity commended Ododo devotion to rural development and other sectors noting that the governor is taking development to the people where they live.

He added that what journalists witnessed during the media tour speaks to the fact that sub-national governments across the country are now able to do more in terms of funding social services, critical infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, because of the reforms that President Tinubu started three years ago.

Ajayi noted that all the governors visited so far during the media tour have attested and also confirmed that they’re able to do as much as they are doing now because they have more fiscal power. “They have more resources to be able to do what they are doing. So again, we have seen the synergy, how the synergy between the states and local government and the federal government delivers value to Nigerians wherever they are in the country,” he noted.