Community Leaders in Kogi East throw weight behind Governor Bello for another term
Community Leaders in the Eastern Senatorial District of Kogi State have affirmed their resolve to support the state Governor, Yahaya Bello for a second term in office in next year's election.
They echoed this resolved on Sunday in a maiden meeting they held with the Governor at Anyigba, the commercial capital of Igalaland.
In a speech he delivered at the event, the Chairman of Igala Gagos Association, Nuhu Alfa praised Governor Bello for his giant strides in human capItal development, infrastructural overhaul, agriculture, upgrade of healthcare facilities, reforms in the civil service and educational sectors, improvement in the state security architecture among others since his assumption of office.
The Gagos, comprising Community Leaders from the nine LGAs in Igalaland, the Chairman said, has over five hundred members in total.
He was particularly ecstatic for the magnanimity of the Governor in granting them audience, a gesture he described as novel as it was the first of its kind in the history of Kogi State.
The head of the Gagos was also full of appreciation to Governor Bello for making it a priority to personally pay a visit to Ojuwo Omaigbi, a farm settlement not far from Oganenigu in Dekina Local Government over the recent attack that led to the regrettable death of 12 persons despite the difficulty in accessing the roads to the community.
He enumerated the roles of Gagos to include the maintenance of law order, security of lives and property, conflict resolution, curbing and prevention of Fulani/Farmers crisis through peaceful village dialogue and other peaceful means before degeneration into crisis among other functions for the peace and tranquility of rural people.
The Gagos also enumerated their objectives to include resolve to be effective agents of government in rural communities, ensure peace and security in all the rural communities and fight all forms of crime at the grassroots.
They used the occasion to pass a vote of confidence on Governor Yahaya Bello and pledged their loyalty to the Attah of Igalaland and President of Kogi State Council of Chiefs, Idakwo Ameh Oboni II.
They were however quick to bemoan the lack of necessary resources such as motorcycles and other facilities to assist in the effective discharge of their responsibilities.
Responding, the Governor praised the Gagos for their efforts in providing adequate security at the community level in the entire Igalaland, saying they were usually the first point of call whenever there is security breach in their domains.
The Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja, promised to look into their requests with the hope of addressing them.