Yobe, Anambra, Delta, Kogi, Jigawa Assess Development Efforts At 31st Anniversary

Some states in the country yesterday marked their 31st anniversary of existence, having been created on August 27, 1991 by then military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.

Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, felicitated with people of the state as it turned 31 years.

He commended previous leaders and the people for their individual and collective contributions towards placing the state on the path of peace and development.

In a statement, the governor said everyone of the past leaders made generous contributions to make Yobe what it is today, while the people extended their support and cooperation to build the state.

“As leaders of the state at various times, you have made tremendous contributions to the state that makes us all proud,” he said.

Jigawa State Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar expressed satisfaction with the progress made by state in physical and human capital development in its 31 years of existence.

The governor in his massage to the people of the state said the state was created to bring government closer to the people particularly in the rural areas, and based on what is on ground the state and the mission are on track.
“The number of primary and secondary schools, higher institutions today Jigawa is second in terms of water and sanitation in Nigeria, we have the best road network, we are at the forefront in promoting use of technology in agriculture, we excel in IT and many other fields of human endeavor.
“Therefore our state is on the path of attaining sustainable development with strong and resilient local economy,”
Governor Badaru stated.
Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly and candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress for Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency in the forthcoming general elections, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole, congratulated Governor Yahaya Bello on the occasion.
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has assured residents and Citizens of Kogi State that He will use His remaining time in Office to deliver his Campaign promises to the people. Bello made this known at while addressing Journalists as part of the activities to mark the 31 anniversary of the State in Lokoja. Bello identified the input of previous leaders as part of the success they are celebrating.His words “Kogi State has come a long way from her early beginnings. The combined efforts of past and present Kogites have been the building blocks of our hopes and aspirations.
We appreciate our founding fathers and those persons, leaders and citizens alike, who have gone before. They are the giants on whose shoulders we stand. We also thank those who are working alongside us today, both in and out of Government over the last 6-and-a-half years.”
However, the speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and the deputy senate president, Ovie Omo-Agege, disagreed over developments in the state over the past seven years.

While the speaker stressed the need for unity among the people for sustainable development, Omo-Agege said it was astounding that a state that had earned well over N2.5 trillion in oil revenues over the past seven years still crawls on all fours.

The speaker in a press statement said at 31, the state had achieved much since its creation as envisioned by past governors and particularly expressed delight with the current administration of Ifeanyi Okowa in building on the solid foundation laid by successive governments.

But Ima Niboro, the director, communications and media strategy, Delta APC gubernatorial campaign council, lamented the level of infrastructural decay in the state, 31 years after creation.

Niboro said the level of decay had left all reasonable people wondering what the current government did with the humongous oil money that had accrued to Delta in the past seven years and more.

Meanwhile, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo marked the anniversary in the Vatican City, Rome.

Soludo who was in company of his wife, Mrs. Nonye led a contingent from the state to the Vatican City, with other indigenes of the state including the Labour Party presidential candidate and former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi; Labour Party candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial district in the 2023 general election, Senator Victor Umeh and the incumbent Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district, Senator Uche Ekwunife in attendance.

They were in Rome to attend the creation ceremony for a new Cardinal, Bishop Peter Okpalaeke, an indigene of the state who is one of the two newly created Cardinals from Africa.

Soludo in his message to the people of the state from Rome said,

“Today is a special day in the life of our state and I bring you felicitations from the St Peters’ Square, Vatican, Rome.

“It’s quite a coincidence that a new Cardinal from Anambra State is being created exactly today on the anniversary of the creation of the state 31 years ago. It’s not a mere coincidence. There must be something spiritual about it,” he said.