๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ. ๐๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ฎ ๐
๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ซ๐ข
๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ซ, ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐
๐๐๐ญ๐ก- ๐๐๐ฒ,๐๐๐๐
Protocol,
Distinguished Citizens and Fellow Stakeholders in the New Adamawa Project, I welcome you to our 2nd Anniversary Dinner. We kick started the 2nd Anniversary celebration with an outline of series of activities.
The past two weeks have seen us crisscrossing the State in a manner that suggests the proverbial season of harvest. From the commissioning of the urban roads in ๐ต๐๐๐๐ and ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐; to the ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, we resumed this early week with the commission of urban roads in ๐๐๐๐-๐บ๐๐๐๐, and ๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐. The crown of the activities was the colorful commissioning of the ๐ณ๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐
๐๐ which was done by our ๐
๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ, ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ, ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ, ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ณ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐
๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐.
The last two weeks have indeed been extensively loaded and exhaustive. I therefore feel that there is no better way to cool it down than a dinner like this. This will give me an opportunity to thank everyone who has been on the commissioning train from the beginning to the end; the invited special guests, who demonstrated their friendship to us and Adamawa State by honouring us with their presence to commission these life changing projects; the ๐ณ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ – ๐๐๐ ๐ท๐ซ๐ท in Adamawa State led by our Chairman ๐ฝ๐๐ง๐ง, ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ช; the State Assembly under the able leadership of the Honourable Speaker, ๐น๐. ๐ฏ๐๐. ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐, my Council of dedicated and modest ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฌ; ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ-๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ of the administration and above all, the ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐. Words are indeed not good enough to express my appreciations to all.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, today, our administration is 2 years old. 2 years is half the lifespan of a single tenure in our constitutional democracy. It is equally an age ripe enough to give an account of a mandate and support freely and willingly given. It is my modest thought that while we descend on our meal, it is equally important to present to you our Scorecard as an appetizer. This is in line with our democratic tradition which is always rooted in citizens’ engagement.
On May 29, 2019, we constitutionally took the oath of office to serve the State for the next 4 years. Since then, we went boots-on to the business of governance and service to the people as dictated by the sacred lines of our oaths. We met a State that was virtually devastated in all ramifications, requiring more than ordinary ingenuity to patch and revamp. Conscious of the task at hand, we went all out, dared distractions and subdued impossibilities.
Today, the ugly narrative is fast reversing, Adamawa State is changing and our people are happier. For me, beside any other achievement that might be credited to this administration, the one that stands out is the fact that we have been able to draw a line between politics and governance. We have in the last 2 years pulled the State out of election mood and placed her on the pedestal of good governance.
We have carefully and deliberately guarded our status as constitutional leaders of the State and resisted all the provocative temptations that could reduce us to bigotry. This has freed the State from unnecessary political tension that retards development.
It is our fervent belief that we stand to benefit more when political scuffles are off our table.
Differences during elections are divine requirement during elections, but once elections are won and lost; the players need to dissolve or at best suspend those differences for the greater good. This is our philosophy where ๐ง๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ๐๐ก๐๐. It is working well for us and the State is the greatest beneficiary.
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐
๐. ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
We inherited a socially destabilized society with a disenchanted citizenry who live in constant fear of losing their lives, livelihood and properties. While general loss of trust, attendant upon by ethnic and religious suspicions and intolerance was brewing among our plural nationalities. Absence of justice and fairness has instituted a culture of identity politics which was negatively taking its toll on our people. Perennial farmer herder conflicts, was claiming lives, herds, farm produce and even settlements of our people.
The situation was so bad that no community in Adamawa State can claim freedom from it. Kidnapping and unrestrained urban crime such as the activities of ‘Shila-Boys cult went on brazenly as if there were no constituted authority to contain them. The Northern Zone which was just recuperating from the attacks of the dreaded Boko haram insurgents were practically abandoned to their faith with most of them converting the emergency IDP camps into a permanent abode with no hope of return to their ancestral homes. The State was sliding into anarchy with no demonstrated authoritative commitment to sanity and control.
๐. ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ญ
We inherited poor infrastructure. Despite the relative commitment of our predecessors in constructing urban roads within the State capital and a few other places, such effort was only good enough to place Adamawa State at its lowest ranking of 33 out of 36 States in the federation. Rural infrastructure has remained a rarity, as our access to our rural communities remain a herculean task, if not impossible. This is not to talk of other basic infrastructures such as electricity which was seen as prized impossibilities.
๐. ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ-๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐
We inherited a civil service which was deliberately bloated by our predecessors out of brazen mischief. While the service was stuffed by a lot of workers who were hurriedly recruited without due process, the machinery of service was not oiled to provide the right results with the level of indolence we met in the service. There were Backlog of salary arrears and general uncertainty on wage dates and accumulated pension areas of retired workers and senior citizens.
๐. ๐
๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐
๐ข๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐
In 2018, the annual IGR of Adamawa State was about 6 Billion. This was considered paltry in this age where every State is deploying all its arsenal to transit to self-reliance and sustainability. We inherited a Suffocating 140-Billion-Naira debt burden which we had to service every month from the Federal Allocation. As if this was not bad enough, there was standing monthly overdraft line to pay salaries provided by commercial banks that chocks. This has led to budget indiscipline and non-compliance with extant appropriation laws.
๐. ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ
Our Education system was in a deplorable state. With Dilapidated schools’ infrastructure; Ill-motivated teachers; insufficient instructional materials in our schools; abdication of feeding in our Boarding Schools; inability to pay counterpart funding for UBEC projects in the State (since 2015); refusal to lift the burden of sponsorship for school fees and registration of national examinations such as WAEC and NECO, off the shoulders of our already impoverished parents, etc., our education system was reduced to a dreadful ebb.
๐. ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ
With tiresome access to secondary health facilities; crumbling and inadequate infrastructure in existing secondary health facilities across the State; poor state of hospital equipment and general lack of sufficient medical consumables in our hospitals; insufficient staff in both Primary Health Care Centers and Secondary Health facilities; lack of State health and social insurance to support the poor and the vulnerable Our health system was among the worst in terms of access, service and delivery;
Distinguished Stakeholders, I have taken the pain to take us through some of these gloomy indicators so that you can have a mental picture of the situation at hand when took over. I am not lamenting. Far from it. I do know, these are pitiably extraordinary problems created by the wrong people in leadership. And your collective anger that you require a true leader to turn the fortunes of the State for the better was the result that brought me on board. The sure way to thank you for this decision is to periodically give you a detailed breakdown of what we are doing to reverse the ugly narrative.
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ
Upon assumption of office in 2019, we were aware of the daunting task ahead. So, we were clear on the energy and intellect required to surmount it. We reeled out our 11 Point Agenda which is now the compass of the administration. The first task was to unbundle the financial crunch and restore fiscal discipline. This is the most important, though intangible, part of our reform. Unfortunately, it is the most unappreciated by outsiders because it is not a physical project that can be touched and commissioned.
Sometimes, I sit down and wonder, where the State would have been by now, if we had not done what we did in this sector? We deployed all our ingenuity and re-engineered the financial mesh of the State. This financial reengineering was able to lessen the weight of the debt burden on our shoulders and provided us with the required oxygen to breath and unleash our energy on other sectors. We went on to key reform drivers such as:
• ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
• ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
• ๐๐ง๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ
• ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐
• ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ
While instituting a culture of discipline around these key drivers, to engender transparency and accountability, we submitted completely to the Treasury Single Account System (TSA) to manage Revenue Collection and Accounting Processes, Capital and Recurrent Expenditure Payments. This helped us to record all government inflows of revenues from IGR, FAAC and other sources.
We removed the chocking standing overdraft line provided by commercial Banks. This removal returned sanity to the compliance with budgetary provisions, expenditure pattern and government ability to pay salaries as at when due.
We achieved discipline in our budgetary process and implementation. This led to the budget size of N244Billion earlier approved by our predecessors to be reduced to N143 Billion for 2020 which was considered more realistic for 2019. Subsequently, in 2021 the budget size was N140 Billion. In view of the global COVID-19 Pandemic, this is necessitated by the amount of revenue generation internally, Federation accounts, Capital receipts, grants and other sources. The desire of this administration is to have a realistic Budget where expenditures are matched against revenue.
We equally achieved prompt payment of Salaries and Pension of workers and retirees. We have been faithful to our commitment to pay the wages and pensions of our workers on the 23rd or 24th of the month; ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐น๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐ ๐ข๐๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐โ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐30,0000.00. We not only implemented the minimum wage as approved by the Federal Government, but ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐,๐๐๐.๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ ๐ – ๐ and also agreed on the consequential adjustments to those on GL 7 and above to civil servants of the State.
With the relative success in unbundling the financial crunch, we took on a multisectoral approach to development.
We invested heavily in the peace and security of our people. We launched an aggressive campaign for peaceful coexistence and made justice and fair play the watch word of our administration. We reclaimed the trust and good will in government, which our predecessors wasted.
This reduced the heated tension among and between our ethnic nationalities and identity groupings. We hosted a security summit and redesigned the Security architecture of the State to accommodate local intelligence and incorporated vigilantes and local hunters in the frontlines; we procured and donated 60 ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
50 ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐; ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
10 ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐; Procured 30 operational Trucks from Local Manufacturer IVM to support Vigilantes and Local hunters in 21 LGAs of the State; paid monthly stipends to Vigilantes and Local hunters in the State; organized a Joint Taskforce raid on mini Sambisa which is the den of the dreaded urban miscreants known as Shila boys in the State Capital.
These proactive measures and many others which will remain covert, were enough to send the message to the underworld that there is a serious government in place. The result is the relative peace we now enjoy. Interestingly most of our IDPs camps are being closed and our people from the northern zone are gradually returning to their ancestral abode. The perennial farmer-herders conflict has been reduced to the barest minimum.
In the Education and Human Capital development sector, we lessened the economic burden of impoverished parents by introducing a tuition-free education in our public schools and paid for WAEC and NECO fees for our final year students in the public schools; we reintroduced the school feeding system with balanced diet in our boarding schools. We awarded ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ก๐๐ง๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง 120 ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐; we equally reintroduce annual bursaries to indigent students studying in the various tertiary institutions within the country. With support from UNICEF and KFW- German Partners, we are constructing and rehabilitating over 80 ๐๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐๐ค๐ง๐ and ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ .
We are equipping the schools and distributing instructional material, sporting facilities to the public schools. We have Paid outstanding UBE counterpart funds from 2015 – 2020. This has enabled us access the required funding for the construction of over 5000 class rooms in basic education schools across the State. We have completed selected internal roads with storm water drainage totaling 5.3km in Adamawa State University (ADSU) and convocated graduands of the School, an event last conducted in 2013.
In the health sector, in order to ensure equitable access to secondary health care services across the State, we are constructing 5 ๐๐๐ 60 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐, ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐
๐, ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ and ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ and ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ฑ๐๐
๐. We are also renovating and upgrading facilities in the ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ located in ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐, ๐ต๐๐๐๐ and ๐ด๐๐๐. We have provided a modern Infectious Diseases Center (IDC) to manage and contain epidemics generally.
This has been put to use in the containment of COVID -19 Pandemic. To improve the quality of service delivery in our Primary Health Centers, we have recruited over 1,200 personnel into the Primary Health care system; constructed 22 Primary Health Care Facilities and renovated over 20 existing facilities across the State with support from our partners.
Working hard to bridge the infrastructure gap, we have embarked on aggressive urban renewal programme. Our signature projects in the State Capital under this Programme are the ๐ณ๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐
๐๐ and the ๐ฎ๐๐๐
๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ with an ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ at ๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ and ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ respectively.
To compliment these monuments and ensure a coordinated traffic management and guarantee free vehicular movement within the metropolis, about 20 km road network have either been provided or rehabilitated. Over 15 Km out of these roads have so far been completed and commissioned within the week; also completed in the urban renewal campaign are the projects in ๐ต๐๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐๐, and ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐; ๐ฑ๐๐
๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐
๐ is also ongoing. We are also completing works started by our predecessors: Resumption of work on 37.5 ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ – ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐
, ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 7 ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐, resumption of work on 40 ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ – ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐
and Completion of 5.3 ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐บ๐ผ among others. It is gratifying to note that most of these projects have been completed, commissioned and put to use for our people.
To open up our rural areas for access, we have leveraged on our partnership with the Rural Access and Mobility Programme (RAMP II) supported by world Bank to construct 347 km of Rural roads across the State. Key among them are: ๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐ท๐๐๐- ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ (27.91 ๐๐), ๐ท๐๐๐
๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐ (18.09 ๐๐), ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ – ๐จ๐๐
๐๐ (15.58 ๐๐), ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ – ๐พ/๐๐๐๐๐ (19.71 ๐๐), ๐ฏ๐๐๐ – ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ (25.58 ๐๐), ๐ด๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ – ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐บ๐๐๐๐ (10.90 ๐๐), ๐ต๐๐๐๐ – ๐ฉ๐๐๐ (7.42 ๐๐), ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐(16.93 ๐๐), ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ฒ๐๐๐ (11.47 ๐๐), ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ต๐
๐๐๐๐ (13.14 ๐๐), ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ – ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (9.3 ๐๐). Again, all the rural roads have been completed and put to use by our hardworking rural dwellers.
The rural electrification project has equally reconnected communities of Michika and Madagali LGAs to the National grid after five years of destruction by Boko Haram Insurgents. We have also connected Tahau in Demsa LGA, and made the history of connecting Toungo LGA to the National Grid. I continue to draw joy and pride in the Toungo electricity project. Not only because of its landmark status but more because of my ability to fulfil an electoral promise I have always carried as a burden. It is indeed a huge relief.
Youths development and empowerment have been elevated to an institutional level by creating the Ministry of Entrepreneurship Development and an Agency of Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation to provide the right skills for our teaming youths and prepare them for selfreliance. This will also stimulate the development of Micro-small and Medium Enterprises in the State.
Our agriculture and livestock masterplan development is on course. With the establishment of the State Livestock Transformation Office (SLTO).
We have commenced the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Regeneration Programme in Toungo and Ganye LGAs, consistently procured and supplied fertilizers and other farm inputs to our local farmers at subsidized price, completed the ultra-modern Jimeta Abattoir as well as well ongoing rehabilitation of selected Abattoirs in the State. We have also engaged a consultant on an endto-end Agribusiness Development which would empower our farmers to unlock the relegated economic base of the State. A preliminary analysis, reveals that the State IGR will grow by over 90% in a Span of 10 years from the agribusiness alone.
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
Fellow Citizens, above are our modest achievements even in the face of glaring impossibilities by the time we took over. This is further worsened by the hard effect of the COVID – 19 Pandemic on the economy.
As an administration, with the right forecast, when COVID-19 started early last year, we foresaw that the effect of the global economic shut down, will bite harder and tougher in the second half of this year (2021). For the State, just as it is for other entities across the world, this is one of the toughest moments for survival.
As a responsible government, we deployed adequate resources into the design of an economic response stimuli for the State. While admitting that the situation is tough, it can only be tougher for those who refuse to act at the right time. Our window for economic survival is unlocking our potentials that is secretly hidden in Agriculture and its value chain. It is against this background that we are set to launch the ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐๐) and I hereby call on all our citizens to explore the programme and prepare to exploit the vast opportunities that abound therein. It is necessary to reveal that the successful implementation of the ADAS Programme will create 750,000 direct jobs with a corresponding 1,500,000 indirect ones. It will grow our GDP from its current level of 1.7 Trillion to 7.8 Trillion Naira. Above all, it will raise our IGR from 8.3 Billion in 2020 to 52 Billion Naira in 10 years’ time.
Our vision is to have an Adamawa State that is financially self-sufficient; where cost of governance (both recurrent and capital) can conveniently be defrayed from the streams of revenues invented within. The guiding philosophy is to ensure that ๐ต๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
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๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ:
• Build institutions for sustainability and unleash the required sectoral reforms that can drive development and entrench a culture of patriotism and progress.
• Set a tall standard of good governance where accountability and people centered policies and programmes are key.
• Shrink the infrastructural gap by completing all projects initiated and even the ones abandoned by our predecessors.
• Empower the youths and women through carefully crafted entrepreneurial programmes.
• Make Adamawa State a preferred destination of choice for investment.
• In the next two years, introduce a sustainable social intervention program that can cushion the effect of the current economic reality, fight poverty and create a minimum safety net for the poor and the vulnerable.
• Continue to reduce political tension within the polity and sensitize Adamawa elites around the knowledge that the State is greater than each of us individually.
Distinguished Stakeholders, this is our Scorecard. Today we submit ourselves to the temple of popular mandate which is the hallmark of democracy. As we move into the other half of the constitutional mandate, I want to reemphasize that this is our Government. The people’s Government in Adamawa State. We are opened to all forms of constructive counsel for the unity and progress of Adamawa State.
Once more, thank you and God bless.
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