Kogi ripe for investment, says Ohiare, a governorship aspirant
He said this while speaking with newsmen after submitting his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest Kogi governorship election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Screening Committee.
Ohiare, a former Executive Director, Rural Electrification Agency, was also screened by the committee to confirm his eligibility to contest the Kogi governorship election, slated for Nov.11, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He commended the screening committee, saying his experience with its members went well.
“It went well, as you know I resigned my appointment as Executive Director at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on Feb. 17, 2023, to pick the forms to contest the governorship of my state.
“And running for governor is not a tea party, so it wasn’t a decision that I take lightly.
“I look out at the outcome and what it takes to offer myself to run and continue on the work that the current Gov. Yahaya Bello is doing in the state.
“And I feel that this is the right time for me to go in and consolidate, because different times requires different set of skills and leadership to make progress in the life of a country, community or state,” he said.
He said Kogi is now ripe for investment since Gov. Bello had stabilised it and ensured its security and peace.
Ohiare said it was time for someone with his kind of skills and experience to come in and consolidate on Gov. Bello’s achievements in the state.
He added that he had the capacity and experience to lead the state to the next level of development, saying he was no match to other aspirants.
“I am not trying to downplay anybody’s efforts, but if you look at our profiles, the kind of leadership we need now is to move the state forward, you will know that none of them can come close to me,” he said.
Ohiare assured that if he emerges as the next Kogi governor, he would transform the state and turn it to a logistics hub.
“Kogi has certain advantages, for instance. with the Rivers Niger and Benue, it used to be a trade zone, we have plans to work with the Federal Government and private sector to build an inland port.
“This inland port comes with a lot of other benefits and investments. We have a railway that runs between Itakpe and Warri.
“We want to connect it to Abuja, effectively to Kaduna and Kano and build an airport, the idea is to make Kogi a logistics hub of the country.
“Kogi can serve the Northern part of the country in terms of business and trade,” he said.
Also at the screening committee, was Sen. Smart Adeyemi, the Senator representing Kogi West in the Senate who, while speaking with newsmen, called on Gov. Bello to be a detribalised leader.
He said the call became imperative following speculations in some quarters that Bello was working towards ensuring that an “Ebira” man succeeds him.
Adeyemi said Bello had shown that he was a statesman in approving political appointments in the state and should not limit his support to any aspirant.
He said Okun West deserves to produce the next governor of the state because it had not produced a governor in the state since the inception of democracy.
Adeyemi said it was important for any political party, including the APC, to zone the governorship ticket to Kogi West.
The lawmaker said there was no doubt that he was eminently qualified to govern the state, considering his wealth of experience.
He said he would be coming with a radical approach to galvanise the socio economic development of the state.
This, he said, he would do by creating job opportunities and going into joint ventures to set up industries and factories that would provide jobs for the people of the state. (https://newsatlarge.ng)