From Francis Nansak,Lafia
One year has fast gone down from the four years constitutional mandate of Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule, the fourth elected governor of Nasarawa state.
Expectations from well-meaning citizens of the state are that the new government will create a visible paradigm shift in both human and infrastructure development that will encourage the prosperity of the citizens, the state, and attracting industries and investors alike.
In a common but known slogan of the Sule’s administration, “Exceeding All Expectations” which is expectedly coined as the driving policy of the government, citizens of the state have begun to aligned with the fact that before the end of the first tenure of the governor, there may surely be a chain of success story to point at.
Governor Sule, had earlier in countless speeches in different outings said he would ensure accountability, transparency and justice in the management of both human and public resources.
In one of the governor’s speech at a Muslim function in Lafia, he swore that he was not in government to accumulate a personal wealth, and that he saw no reason for any governor or public official to steal public funds, while in some other events where stakeholders and traditional rulers were present, Engineer Sule again stated that, “even if I was going to spent one term or 8 years as the case may be, I will leave without fear of any anti-graft agency coming after me for refund of monies stolen instead of their judicious usage.
So far, so good, the question is, has the governor laid a foundation that could advance developmental governance based on several committed statements he made in public?
Yes, to some appreciable percentage, civil servants, those in the private sector and other residents of the state have individually and collectively expressed confidence that in no distance time, a paradigm shift which is the expectation from the government will be noticed, based on solid achievements so far recorded in the state, even as Governor Sule had vowed that health, education, security and Industrial sectors would form the priority targets of his administration.
The administration came in during a dwindling of fortune in the oil as the oil prices continue to plunge to dismal balance at the international market thereby affecting the revenue flow of the country, nay most states in Nigeria, additionally the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic contributed immensely to the economic misfortune of the state, which invariable affected some developmental push of the governor, as it were in other states.
Not deterred by those challenges, the COVID-19 record in the state has strengthened the governor’s determination to ensure public accessibility to healthcare from the urban city to the grassroots.
Recently, Engineer Sule, a mechanical engineer, picked up the challenge of redesigning the health sector in the state to address the issue of not just the coronavirus disease but Lassa fever, Ebola and malaria fever.
And as a matter of morale, a rear case among some politicians, Governor Sule did not abandon any project which was not completed by his predecessors, especially projects that have to do with improving health care service delivery in the state.
The governor through his pragmatism ensured the completion of a diagnostic and research centre, mapped out funds for the rehabilitation of the Shabu Isolation centre as well as equipping of the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital to 110 capacity bed isolation centre.
The state which hosts the Federal University, Lafia, donated to the university, a model hospital edifice built by the immediate past governor,Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura , for the institution’s drive to establish a medical science collage.
Not stopping at that, Governor Sule on Wednesday last week, flagged off the distributions of some medical equipment procured through the SOML to be distributed among secondary and primary healthcare centres across the three senatorial zones of the state.
Following colossal development of health sector by the administration of Governor Sule, Nasarawa state will soon be experiencing a paradigm shift in the health as many people in the state will find it easy in accessing their medical needs without many hassles.
