The people of Nasarawa State will on May 29, 2012, roll out drums to celebrate the first year anniversary of the administration of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura with grandiose and pomp having voted the candidate of their choice in the April 2011 general elections.
Nasarawa State witnessed intense political activities preparatory to the 2011 general elections which saw the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) wrest power from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In that historic election, the electorate in Nasarawa took their destiny into their hands by resolving to vote out the moribund and ineffectual PDP from office.
On assumption of office on May 29, 2011, Governor Al-Makura, in an inspiring and earthshaking speech, said: “We are caught up in a grave moral and ethical crisis. Our state institutions are poorly managed, our infrastructure dilapidated, while our economy is weak;? the result of myopia, greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also of our collective failure to demand better from our leaders.”
He went on to capture the depressing mood in the state by saying, “our men and women, especially the youths, are mostly jobless. Our healthcare is deficient, our education system is in dire need of reforms, and our lack of power and energy threatens our economic progress. Our confidence in our ability to change all this has given way to despair.”
From the very start however, Governor Al-Makura was not unmindful of the task before him, given the level of desolation and disrepair he met in the state. In brazing for the task ahead, he said “the hurdles before us are real, grave and numerous and you and others across the country rightly expect so much from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and my administration.
“Let it be clear though that there are no easy solutions or quick fixes. Nevertheless, I assure you, we will overcome the challenges. We will undertake road building inside and outside our towns and villages, and improve our energy capabilities to meet our power needs”.
Wasting no time on rhetoric and propaganda, common attribute in our political clime, AlMakura set the ball rolling by charting a course that would forever change the fortunes of Nasarawa State. Even with the attendant distractions of court cases from the Tribunal to the Supreme Court, the CPC administration could not be deterred.
Intercity roads embarked upon by Al-Makura’s administration in Lafia, the state capital, include those linking Kurikyo and Shendam roads, Angwan Mangu-Kurikyo, the one linking Shendam Road and Angwan Tiv, through Super Cinema and the one passing through Lafia East Primary School through to the Government House Junction, on Shendam Road and Project Quarters, UAC-Kwandere Road, as well as some selected street roads in Lafia metropolis.
The governor also awarded contracts for the construction of some roads in Akwanga and Keffi. Construction works on these roads are in progress and are at various stages of completion. He also influenced the ongoing reconstruction of Lafia-Doma Road.
Only recently, the governor procured and commissioned earth moving machines for the sole purpose of opening-up and construction of rural roads. This is aimed at abating the untold hardship suffered by rural dwellers, following years of neglect by previous administrations in the state.
The urban renewal policy of the present administration has turned Lafia into a huge construction yard, as scores of road constructions are going on simultaneously.
Nasarawa State Government is also working in collaboration with the Federal Government to assist the state in constructing federal roads that pass through the state. The governor recently held talks with officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and that may probably lead to the dualisation of Lafia-Makurdi-Enugu roads.
Al-Makura has also sought the support of authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in completing the construction works on some roads that border the state and the FCT; among them are Gitata-Panda and Mararaba-Mpape roads.? When these roads are completed, they will reduce the traffic congestion on the Abuja-Karu-Nyanya-Keffi roads.
The “Power In 100 Days Initiative” of the governor in the power sector has also been a success story and residents of Lafia and other communities around the state are already enjoying the kind gesture, via constant power supply.
The intervention, which is meant to provide relief to the overstretched and outdated power infrastructure in the state, particularly in Lafia, saw the governor flagging off the installation of 32 500KVA transformers to boost the epileptic power supply in the state.
With this development, the power situation has significantly improved since the installation of the new transformers and the residents are now enjoying 12 to 16 hours of uninterrupted power supply daily and this could best be described as a feat that has never been achieved since the creation of the state, over 16 years ago.
The Nasarawa Energy Company (NASENCO), which was part of the committee set up by the state government to fine-tune the structures of powering the state, has ensured that beside its potentials for industrialization, the power project would enhance social life and improve on the economic activities of the state.
The state government has also embarked on the initiative to connect all the local government areas to the national grid, with the aim of improving the power facilities, especially the 132KVA to boost economic activities in the rural areas of the state.
The transport sector was also not left out in the initiatives of the CPC administration in the state as the government recently rejuvenated the transport sector and improve the ailing transport company, which is now christened “Nasarawa Express” by acquiring about 40 buses to provide the people with affordable, reliable and accessible transportation.
The inventory of what Governor Al-Makura has accomplished since assumption of office is endless and these include the approval and implementation of the new national minimum wage of N18,000 for the state civil servants which has served as a morale booster for the state workforce for effective and efficient service delivery.
Today, the lingering water supply shortage, inherited by the present administration, has been tackled; daily water supply has since been restored to Lafia, Keffi, Akwanga, Nasarawa, Nasarawa Eggon and Doma, just to mention few.
In the health sector, the state governor has single-handedly ensured that the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in the state called off their four months old strike on assumption of office. In addition he also introduced free medical healthcare for pregnant women and children under five years.