Melaye: Kogi too blessed to be poor — I’ll bring new era if elected governor

Dino Melaye, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi, says the state would witness a new era if elected as the governor.

Melaye spoke in Abuja, on Friday when he received the report of the party’s policy drafting committee for the Kogi governorship election.

He said if elected as the state governor, he would reform the Kogi civil service, improve infrastructure and create an Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission.

Melaye also promised to pay full salary to workers, create four new districts and increase the state’s internally generated revenue without a tax burden on the poor.

He said if elected, he would use the monthly federal allocation for payment of civil salaries, pension, gratuities, promotion, training and retraining, while internally revenue would be used for developmental projects.

“The civil service in Kogi state will be reformed and we will pay salaries on the 25th of every month. We will also pay full salary,” Melaye said.

“Today in Kogi, there is no middle class. It is only the rich and the poor. Those in government are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

“We are going to raise the revenue without taxing the poor.”

The PDP candidate promised to grant local governments financial autonomy.

“Ten years ago, local government areas in Kogi state were doing projects, rural roads. Today, no local government in Kogi can dig a well,” he said.

“Local government has no vehicles, salaries are not paid, some local government secretariats are under lock and key. But we are saying that a new day is coming.”

Melaye promised to harness and commercialise mineral resources in the state, saying Kogi is “too blessed to be poor”.

“I brought people from outside Nigeria who did a scientific research and gave me the mineral resources in Kogi. We have 52 mineral resources but only one has been tapped – limestone,” he said.

“The rest are just there; we have uranium. We have the largest deposit of Uranium in Nigeria.”

Melaye also commended the drafting committee for “doing a good job”.

“No other party is talking about policy document apart from the PDP. I have looked at this document, I have read it, it is not only robust, but a solution book and prayer answered,” he said.

Also speaking, Sam Amadi, the committee chairman, said the policy document contain recommendations that would transform Kogi, if implemented.

He said the document covers several sectors including education, agriculture, local government administration, technology, communications, tourism in line with Melaye’s vision for the state.

“The committee recommended that there must be an Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission,” Amadi said.

“When Melaye becomes the governor, we are insisting that the people that will constitute that committee should be above board and should have influence on the activities of the governor.

“The commission should be independent; it should have people with pedigree, integrity, so that when he is going wrong, they will bring him back.”