Gov. Bindow And Burden Of Developing Adamawa
Adamawa is one of the most ravaged states in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram insurgency, with its capital in Yola. It gave birth to Taraba state in 1991 from the defunct Gongola State. It has our administrative divisions: Adamawa, Ganye, Mubi and Numan.
Adamawa state is popularly known as a Land of Beauty with Deep Cultural Heritage, Excellence and Millennium Tourist destination in Nigeria.
The state is blessed with vast fertile land, solid minerals and livestock in commercial quantities. The agro allied products include rice, maize, cotton, yams, cassava, potatoes, millet, guinea corn, guava and mango. Herds of cattle, sheep and goat as well as poultry products also abound in commercial quantities. The cash crops and cereals, livestock and poultry products are daily contributing to national food and nutrition needs of Nigerians. The state is currently yearning for investors to exploit its enormous solid mineral resources.
However, besides the insurgency that is almost contained, Adamawa is faced with lack of basic social amenities and infrastructure. Some of the common pressing problems facing the state are portable drinking water, health facilities, educational institutions, agric inputs, electricity and roads.
The citizens are highly optimistic that the challenges can be addressed if funds generated by and allocated to the state are judiciously utilized for the benefit of residents. The development indices will not only boost food production but add more revenue to the government to deliver democracy dividends.
This challenge, among other serious problems facing the state, made Senator Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow to join the wagon of APC in order to alleviate the hardship of the people. Bindow who curved a niche for himself in all the places he worked says he come to restore the dignity of his people. His report card in all the places he served tells every person having listening ears about his capabilities of transforming any area no matter the challenges or difficulties of governance. As the number one man with the trust of Adamawa people, Governor Bindow can only be described as a governor with a difference because he is seen as someone trading passionately where many couldn't especially in carrying all along, with dignity and unity of purpose in governance.
By way of fulfilling campaign promises, the Bindow-led administration awarded township roads network with special attention given to the metropolitan state capital where most of the roads were abandoned by previous administrations. These roads includes Karewa-Masakare road, Gumti Road along Faro Bottling Company Limited linking Adamawa Sunshine transport park and part of Jambutu Quarters, Wauru Jabbe off Numan road, Yola bye pass to Upper Benue River Development Basin Authority quarters, among others.
It would be recalled that the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, while flagging off the Wauru Jabbe road project asked Gov. Bindow to the hearing of many including the press “so you have already started executing projects in your state, so early?” While the governor kick started the Gumti-Faro road, his Deputy, Martins Babale, launched the commencement of the Bye pass road in Yola town which are presently above 60 per cent completion.
Some officials of the contracting firms like Royyco Construction Company constructing the Gumti-Faro road expressed confidence that they will certaintly finish work according to the contract agreement.
He also made giant strides in the area of health care delivery where a United Arab Emirate outfit indicated interest in constructing a 300 bedding hospital in the state. Also another Chinese firm was in the state and pledged to rehabilitate 4 major hospitals.
To this regard, a committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Hon. Martins Babale took the concerned Chinese firm to the Mubi General Hospital, Yola Specialist Hospital, Numan General Hospital and Guyuk General Hospital with a view to rehabilitating them as the first phase of Bindow's government series of giving facelift to most of the hospitals in the state, apart from the completion of the Jada cottage hospital.
Governor Jibrilla's wife, Hajiya Maryam Bindow equally established a pet project catering for expectant mothers by providing maternity kits in a customized bag nicknamed “Mama kits” containing all the necessary items needed by pregnant women which is being handled by the Primary Health development Agency, PHDA, in the state.
Similarly, the state orphanage which basically serves as an abode for abandoned children neglected by previous government but Governor Bindow's administration has indeed brought a renewed hope for those kids under the custody of the centre, a part from the total renovation carried out, a bore hole has been constructed for water supply to the orphanage which suffered set-back in the past.
However, with a sense of improving source of generating Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, for the state, the state government under the leadership of Governor (Bindow) has not only brought back the contractor to site to complete the renovation of Yola International Hotel but injected N500m after reviewing the contract sum to N1.2 billion, and work is ongoing vigorously.
Also his government made the giant strides in reviewing the renovation of Yola International Hotel which according to him has been used as conduct pipe for diverting government money by previous administrations.
Another move to reduce poverty and unemployment by Bindow's government is streamlining of a youth empowerment program tagged “Bindow Social Change” where the youths through traditional institution of their location in the states covering 226 wards will be accorded N30-N50, 000.00 as soft loan monthly for the small and medium enterprise so that self-reliance can be enhanced. A sum of N500m was also earmarked for the project.
With view to boosting sporting activities especially since Adamawa is blessed with large number of youths, the Jimeta Stadium complex which is at 50% completion and abandoned, Governor Bindow adopted a robust approach to realize the completion soon thereby mobilizing the contractor back to site and work has since resume in earnest.
With civil servants being the engine room of any government set up anywhere in the world, they are also not left behind by people's leader as he used his connectivity to the organized private sector, involving KD Properties and Estate Limited, and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to commence the first phase of construction of 300 housing units coded “The Bindow Housing Estate” in Yola. This project has already taken off with all the prototype samples being constructed on site. The project when completed will allocate 10% of the houses to civil servants in the state under an owner occupier sub programme.
In the area of security he has taken steps to push for the return of normalcy in the seven Local Government Areas of Adamawa State that immensely suffered from the insurgency. Governor Bindow regularly visits all the centers hosting the IDPs in the state to motivate the people and monitor their welfare. He has also facilitated many partnerships with international development partners and the corporate world to support him in providing and delivering relief materials.
The following are also among the many projects lined up for implementation in 2016:, Reactivating the water treatment plants in Yola and Mubi; Establishment of a large scale rice production and processing company in Fufore; Total refurbishment of the state Secretariat in Yola; Re-functionalizing the abandoned Technical skills acquisition centers in the state; Partnership with NigCommSAT to train and install VSAT systems to provide internet connectivity for use in the provision of quality education and healthcare all over the state; Partnership with Friesland Campina Wamco to commence the development of viable Dairy Development Programme in the state.
I am indeed very proud to be associated with these physical transformation projects that was in every corner of my country home Adamawa State, I hope and pray Allah will continue to make it easy for our outstanding governor so that in four years to come the state will become a force to reckon in everything that can ginger development to the country.
Written by Hon. Abubakar Yola.
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