INTRODUCTION
States by Uwe Dedering at German Wikipedia
Assessing elected officials on a 100 day period has gained a worldwide phenomenon and is usually used to predict the direction of a government in power. As it is known, that Nigeria had an election this year and majority of the governors were either sworn in newly or for their second term in office or the few whose tenure has not ended.
We will try to analyze and document what they have done in the past 100 days. While it is given, that not much can be done in this short period of time. An effort will be made to properly access the governors on what they have said, done or plan to do.
Assessing the performance of governors in a country as big as Nigeria is no doubt a daunting task, but our hope is that such interventions will lead to greater discussion on governance and how to make it better for the greatest number of Nigerians.
Abia State – Okezie Ikpeazu
The governors’ attempt at infrastructural renewal of the commercial center of the state, Aba is very commendable and must be done to its conclusion as the town has suffered heavily from infrastructural decay which results in flooding anytime it rains in the state. But, Aba is not the only town that needs renewal in terms of infrastructure, almost all the towns in the state is suffering from one environmental issues or another. Serious attention needs to be paid to infrastructure, education, and health and job creation. A state with the biggest market in West Africa has no business with unemployment.
The governors to also reduce the cost of governance. The choice of 24 commissioners is too bogus and needs to be looked into.
Adamawa state – Mohammed Jubril Bindow
The state has been unfortunate for the past 16 years on the choice of governors. For close to 2 months in the saddle, we still do not have any definite pronouncements on the direction of governance in the state. This is a state where insurgency is on the increase and the people are very poor. We feel he should by now have brought out policies to stem the tide indoctrination in the state.
We also feel that the recent announcement of setting aside 200 million to hire prayer warriors to end the boko haram insurgency is a joke taken too far. The problem of the insurgency needs to be tackled frontally, economically and security wise.
We are however optimistic that the new commissioner for health Dr. Fatima Abubakar with her vow to tackle health challenges in the state may signal something good from that state for once.
Serious attention also needs to be paid to the issues of education, infrastructure and employment
The governor needs to step up. As we speak, there is no commissioner in the state.
Akwa Ibom state – Udom Emmanuel
It is generally accepted that the former governor Godswill Akpabio was one of the high flyers of the last dispensation and anybody coming after him will have a big shoe to fill. The governor has tried to improve and extricate himself from the overbearing nature of the last administration.
He has for the last 2 months tried to move quickly to do things, he was one of the governors to appoint aides and commissioners, who though, are populated by commissioners in the last dispensation. This is understandable because he was a commissioner himself. But he will do well assert his personality and start to improve on the fortune of the state in the areas of education, infrastructure in the rural areas and economic development.
Serious attention should be concentrated on the education of the girl child. The state is known to have the highest number of girls serving as maids in most parts of the country and even outside the country. The governor needs to evolve policies to make education attractive to the girl child in the state.
Anambra state – Willie Obiano
He was one of the most fortunate governors in the state as he was one of the few who had a lot of money left in the coffers when he became the governor. He must be commended in the area of education, he has really done well but must improve the economic indicators in the state. The state populated by very industrious people has no business with unemployment.
Erosion is also one of the problems ravaging the state, the governor must tackle this issue frontally.
Bauchi state – Muhammed Abubakar
He has a very strong anti-corruption agenda and he is pursuing it with vigor, according to him to release funds for the development of the state. He believes that when all loopholes are blocked and reviving the agricultural potentials of the state will pace the state on the march towards economic freedom.
He must be commended for his efforts at retrieving state assets from the former governor and his family. The recent recovery of almost 20 exotic cars is heartwarming but beyond that, he must come up with policies to reduce poverty as it is one of the states with the highest rate of poverty in the country.
Considering the agricultural potentials of the state, it has no business with poverty, the governor should focus on this and harness it for the benefits of the people of the state.
Bayelsa state – Seriake Dickson
He has done quite well in the area of education considering the disadvantage of the state in terms of education. Upon becoming governor, he declared free education to the secondary school level but the menace of kidnapping is still ravaging the state.
Also in terms of infrastructure, the state is still backward despite its huge allocation from the federation account, poverty is also very high which must be tackled seriously.
The governor needs to reduce its bloated number of aides, as at the last count he has almost 200 aides for different portfolio from the absurd to the laughable.
As the state goes to the polls, these must be the issues to be addressed by the people in determining who to vote for.
Benue state – Samuel Ortom
He is one of the few commissioners who is keying into the vision of reducing the cost of governance as he only nominated 13 commissioners. We feel this is commendable in this time when all hands must be on the deck to reduce the prohibitive nature of governance.
But the problem of communal clash and Fulani invasion of the communities are still very rampant. He must find solutions to this immediately and tackle unemployment and poverty.
The state can feed the entire country and yet it is complaining of lack of jobs. The governor should sit up and tackle issues of governance.
Borno state – Kashim Shettima
While it is understandable that the Boko Haram menace has taken shine off whatever plans he had for the state, the governor of the state seems to be trying to make best out of a very bad situation. Though, he cannot be completely exonerated from the problems in the state, he seems to be trying to do some things better like giving students in the state to go to other states where it is safe for them to go to school and the state will be responsible for it. We feel he should do more in ending the menace currently going on in the state.
Cross River state – Ben Ayade
The governor of the state seems to have a very clear agenda on how to improve the fortunes of the state and he seems to be implementing it gradually. From infrastructural development to employment generation to the development of sea port in the state, he seems he has what it takes to turn the state around same way as the former governor of the state Donald Duke.
But he needs to watch the number of aides he is appointing, so that all the money made from developing the state is not spent on maintain the large retinue of aides appointed. We feel the recent appointment of 35 aides is in bad taste when he should be looking for ways of cutting cost.
Also, the 10,000 jobs he promised to create within his 100 days in office has not materialized, we feel promises made should be fulfilled or the people will lose trust in their elected leaders.
He also must tackle poverty and unemployment which are still very rampant especially in the rural areas. Education should also be given pride of place and he must put to better use the Tinapa Resort in Calabar. Such huge project must not be allowed to go to waste.
Delta state – Ifeanyi Okowa
The governor needs to show seriousness in governance, two months into his administration, he seems overwhelmed by the aura of office. He still goes about visiting dignitaries and attending thanksgivings when other states are already making giant strides.
Though, he inaugurated an empowerment scheme meant to generate 6000 jobs in the state, he need to get serious with governance in the state.
Issues like education, infrastructure and unemployment need serious attention. He should also watch the number of his aides.
Ebonyi state – Dave Umahi
If there is one governor who is not allowing the fact that he belongs to another party from the president affect his relationship is this governor. At every opportunity, he makes it a point of duty to intimate the president of the issues affecting the state and how he can help. We feel this attitude should be adopted by all the governors. The development of their state should be the most paramount.
His strong anti-corruption stand is also very commendable and he has a relatively small cabinet of 18 commissioners, though, this could still be reduced.
Poverty and unemployment is still an issue in the state. This must be tackled seriously. Environmental degradation such as erosion is also another problem facing the state.
The governor should also get serious and pay workers’ salaries rather than give excuses.
Edo state – Adams Oshiomhole
The comrade governor seems to have done better than all the former governors in the state combined in the state. His infrastructural development, giant strides in education, security. He successfully stopped kidnapping in the state by making it a capital offence. If that’s the only reason why it stopped, we do not know but kidnapping is now a thing of the past in the state.
He needs though to tackle the problems of flooding in the state and he needs to talk less and face governance issues as he seems to be everywhere these days.
Ekiti state – Ayodele Fayose
The governor seems to have the magic wand to make the people of the state love him. He is to be commended in the area of security as kidnapping seem to have abated in the state and he also has keyed into reduction in the cost of governance by appointing only 13 commissioners against 24 by the last administration.
But he needs to take it easy with his criticism of the president, we do not have problems with anyone criticizing the president if he does anything wrong but this daily diatribe against the president just so to see you speak does not augur well for governance.
Governance is a very serious business. His attempt at trivializing the issues of governance is quite unfortunate. His recent encounter with workers where grown adults were prostrating for the governor is simply servitude, there are already laid down procedures to deal with such issues in the civil service, there was no need to turn it into a circus.
Also, news came about where he was checking motorists particulars, we feel that’s not the business of the governor, there are statutory bodies licensed to do that.
Also, his penchant attitude of distributing food materials to the citizenry should be stopped forthwith. Rather, he should empower the people to fend for themselves.
Enugu state – Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
24 commissioners for a small state as Enugu is contrary to the mood of the nation which is to cut waste. There is nothing the state is doing with such huge numbers. This has somewhat taken the shine off the laudable things the governor is doing in the areas of making government reach the people of the grassroots, by weeding out ghost workers in the state and trying to revive the coal industry in the state to generate employment.
The governor should drastically reduce the cost of governance in order to not fritter away all that’s saved from economic activities.
The government should also focus on tackling unemployment, education and rural renewal as there are still some towns in the state not connected to the national grid.
Enugu people are very industrious, the governor should take advantage of this and turn the state around.
Gombe state – Ibrahim Dankwambo
As a former Accountant General of the federation, the governor has been able to manage the finances of the state in such a prudent manner such that it is not one of the states not hugely indebted. But the governor has not done enough to make known his giant strides in the state.
The recent resurgence in bombing activities has robbed the governor of so much goodwill. He needs to do more to stem the tide of terrorism in the state in collaboration with the Federal government. This is a great opportunity to make use of his huge security vote.
Also attention should be paid to unemployment in the state. As an accountant, he should think of ways of generating employment for the teeming youths in the state. Agriculture is one way out.
Imo state – Rochas Okorocha
This is the only state where education is free up to the tertiary level. While we believe that considering the huge resources needed to fund education, someone should be paying for it, he still needs to be commended as many who otherwise would not have gone to school will have the opportunity now.
He has also promised that his focus in his second term is on creating jobs. Though, he should not have waited for now to do that. But it is better late than never.
The governor should create jobs, jobs and a lot of jobs. He should also focus on finishing some of the projects in the state before awarding others. It makes no sense to award many contracts and not finish any but it makes more sense to award a sizeable number and finish them.
He should also pay workers’ salaries, his excuses for not paying are rather lame.
Jigawa state – Badaru Abubakar
The governor is busy laying the foundation for the infrastructural development of the state. He just set up a project intervention committee to make sure that all the communities in the state are touched with one project or the other, he also reduced the number of ministries from 17 to 13 to reduce cost of governance.
He must as a matter of urgency develop the agricultural potential of the state to reduce unemployment and poverty.
Kaduna state – Nasir El Rufai
This is one governor who has shown determination in tackling developmental issues confronting the state. He made his appointments before being sworn in meaning they started work on the first day of inauguration.
He has stopped the distribution of fertilizers to influential members of the state rather they are sold directly to farmers now, he also did biometric analysis of all state workers thereby eliminating ghost workers.
He also reduced the number of ministries from 19 to 13 and stopped the state sponsoring of pilgrimage saying the state has no money to do such. He also stopped the feeding of almajiris in the state during festive season saying it breeds corruption.
As a result of the bomb blast that occurred in Kaduna state, he banned street begging in the state which has resulted to a lot of criticism.
We also suggest that the beggars be rehabilitated and reintroduced to the society. The state used to have the biggest textile companies in Nigeria but they have all collapsed, he must focus on this to reduce poverty and unemployment.
Kano state – Abdullahi Gandjue
The governor has been busy making decisions that will turn the fortune of the state around, apart from reducing the number of ministries in the state, he has also taken some decisions to reduce the cost of governance in the state. He has also taken steps to boost healthcare development in the state as well as education by making education free in the state.
He needs though, to reduce the amount wasted on religious activities in the state as it does not benefit the state in anyway, such resources could be deployed to better ventures that will benefit the greatest number of people in the state.
Katsina state – Aminu Bello Masari
The former speaker of the House of Representatives has the honor of being the governor of the president’s state and will be overshadowed the larger than life image of the president. But he has done well in terms of education by making it free up to secondary level and also developing technical and vocational schools to take care of those not able to go to the tertiary institutions.
He also needs to reduce the cost of governance and the amount spent on religious activities.
Attention should also be concentrated on infrastructural development and the reduction of poverty in the state. The agricultural potentials of the state should be seriously harnessed.
Kebbi state – Atiku Bagudu
The governor of the state has lamented the decay in the educational sector in the state and has vowed to reverse the trend. He has made education and health as priority in the state. This will boost the health and wellbeing of the people of the state.
He needs to pay attention to the activities of the cattle riders as they continue to cause mayhem in the state. He needs to evolve a security arrangement that will permanently deal with the situation.
The state also needs to fight poverty and unemployment, we feel agriculture and education are effective tools in dealing with these.
Kogi state – Idris Wada
The governor of the state continues to mismanage the state and not much can be said to be development in the state. Kogi has been unfortunate with the choice of governor’s overtime. The governor needs to sit up to deal with the challenges of security, education, infrastructure and lack of jobs in the state.
These issues should form the basis of the pattern of votes in the state in the coming elections. The people should ask the right questions and demand the right answers.
Governance must be taken seriously in the state more than it is presently being done.
Kwara state – Abdulfatai Ahmed
The state has done well in terms of agriculture and has also tried to reduce the cost of governance, attention must be paid to education in the state. The governor has been average at best in the development in the state. A lot of vigor needs to be injected into governance in the state and he might need to shed the weight of his political god father.
The governor should expand the state economic indicators to include as many people as possible. Poverty is still very rampant in the state. He should use agriculture to tackle this menace.
Lagos state – Akinwunmi Ambode
It is a fact to everybody that it will be a herculean task for anyone taking over from the former governor Babatunde Fashola, hence, allowance have been made for that. But it seems 3 months into governance in the state, the governor might be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems facing the state.
Some of the gains he made in the first month have been eroded completely, crime has reached a crescendo in the state. This happens on a daily basis and there seems to be no end in sight to this menace. He is also one of the few governors who has not appointed commissioners to help in piloting the fairs of the state.
Poverty and unemployment are still very high in the state and this must be tackled immediately as it cannot be divorced from the high crime rate in the state.
The issue of tanker drivers wreaking havoc in the state must not be handled with kid gloves.
He must be commended for his plan to attract investment to the state and also for his plan for infrastructural renewal.
Nassarawa state – Tanko Al Makura
Security has improved drastically in the state compared to when it was a daily occurrence to have cult clashes in the state. The governor needs to key into the plan to cut to waste in governance.
The state is lacking in modern infrastructure, poverty and unemployment are still very high which must be tackled drastically.
Niger state – Abubakar Sani Bello
The entrepreneurial governor of the state seem to have put life into the development of the state with his plan for economic development of the state and his plan to make it a tourist destination and food basket of the nation. He is also strongly passionate about health and his wife, who is a medical doctor has volunteered to work at the state specialist hospital.
He must also be commended for stopping the state sponsoring of pilgrimages. During his meeting with the state Ulamas, he said the state resources cannot be used to take care of a fraction of the state. He must be commended for this. We hope others will take a cue from this.
Agriculturally, the state is blessed. This must be used to reduce poverty, unemployment and focus on the infrastructural renewal of the state.
Ogun state – Ibikunle Amosun
His infrastructural development in the state especially in the state capital actually earned him a second term. He has also done well with security and it has reduced drastically in the state. He has also done well in terms of education with the massive renovation of schools and the building of mega schools.
He needs to move development to other parts of the state and also pay workers who are being owed.
Ondo state – Olusegun Mimiko
The governor of the state is nearing the end of his second term and has done quite well in the area of health, infrastructure and education which has uplifted the state. He has also done well in the area of security as the state has been largely peaceful as against the problem of bunkering and kidnapping in the area.
His recent plan to introduce a card in the state for the residents to access government interventions has been controversial but it will be a way to generate funds for the state in the face of dwindling oil revenues.
The recent ban of motorcycle in some areas in the state has also generated a lot of debates. But we believe that it is a bold step as motorcycle cannot be a mode of transportation in this age and time.
Poverty and unemployment are still very high and this must be tackled, the okada riders whose source of income just stopped will need something to do else they take to crime.
This must be paramount to the governor.
Osun state – Rauf Aregbesola
The governor has been on the hot seat of recent due to his owing workers’ salaries for several months. Whilst not defending him, he is not the only one owing had has been making efforts to pay but this has robbed him of the giant strides he has made in other areas of governance. He has done well with education, security, employment and infrastructural development.
He needs as a matter of urgency to pay salaries of workers and not get government involved in business activities of building industries and religious centers. All he should do is create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. These are some of the things that affected the finance of the state. 54%
Oyo state – Abiola Ajimobi
For the first time in the over 30 years of that state, the governor has been able to break the jinx that no state governor wins second term.
Winning the second term has a lot to do with his infrastructural development in the state and security. Oyo state has been peaceful compared to what it was in the past that hooliganism and barbarism ere elevated to an art state.
He needs though to improve on education and agriculture.
The state has a lot of arable lands, it is simply myopic for a state close to Lagos not take advantage of the huge food market to make a lot of money for the state.
The governor should also pay workers without delay.
Plateau state – Simon Lalong
He has had to battle some security challenges in the state since he got sworn in and this has affected his performance in the state. He has done quite well in the area of cutting cost and wastage in governance and also in the area of security. When the federal government asked that all military check points be removed, he appealed that they be retained when attacks increased in the state.
He needs to be on top of the situation in the state. He also has some grand plans to develop the state into a tourist destination hoping the security issues will be resolved to make the plan workable.
Poverty breeds insecurity. He must tackle poverty in the state by investing heavily in mining and agriculture in the state.
Rivers state – Nyesom Wike
He is like a man obsessed with developing his state and is pursuing his agenda with a singular purpose not minding the distractions that might come from his victory being challenged at the tribunal.
In almost all the areas of governance, he has done quite well, from infrastructural development of roads, bridges to making the state safe and blocking loopholes to block siphoning the states resources to assembling his team on time and giving them the plan of what to do.
He has cut the image of someone who knows what he wants and plans to do it regardless.
He needs to be patient and obey all court orders as taking illegal decisions will not help the state.
Sokoto state – Aminu Tambuwal
The former House of Representatives speaker is taking some decisions that will revolutionize the state. His health plans and especially education where he has promised to send a bill to the state house of assembly where it will be made a criminal offence not to send your child to school. We feel this is a bold step that will change the face of education in the state.
Coupled with the fact that education is free in the state to the secondary school level. He has also been very proactive with security in the state by liaising with the different faiths in the state to appeal to their members to shun criminal activities.
He needs to reduce cost of governance by not wasting the state’s resources on religious activities which does not benefit the state.
We also feel his recent campaign to give money to the cleanest town in the state, though, while commendable will not deal with the issue. He needs to carry out a lot of massive campaign on the benefits of a clean environment.
Taraba state – Darius Ishaku
The state has been unfortunate in recent past in terms of governance as the state for almost a year was not without a substantive governor. The election of the governor was expected to usher in a new sawn for the state but since his election, he seems to have gone to sleep as virtually nothing is happening in the state.
The state is daily bedeviled with the problem of Fulani herdsmen killing people of the state at random and he doesn’t seem to have any plan to nip that in the bud. Poverty and unemployment needs to be tackled as well.
The governor needs to sit up and take governance seriously.
Yobe state – Ibrahim Geidam
The state continues to battle the scourge of terrorism and seem to be no end in sight to the problem and the state government, though, not totally to be blamed has remained unable to do anything with the problem. Rather, it is blaming everybody for its woes. Nothing can be achieved in a state constantly bombed on a daily basis.
We appeal to the both the state and federal government to sit up and end this scourge once and for all.
Zamfara state – Abdulaziz Yari
Since his recent election or nomination as the Chairman of the Nigeria’s Governors Forum, he has become a recurring figure in Nigeria with his fight for states to have more resources to meet their needs.
He needs to put the same fight and vigor to governance in the state to tackle poverty, unemployment and infrastructural decay.
Education is very important for this state and a lot of resources need to be committed to this to handle the issue.
