Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has made a donation of one hundred million naira to the Kogi State Poor and Vulnerable Citizens Fund.
Dangote, who is fondly referred to as the “number one Corporate Citizen of Kogi”, made the donation to the fund which is an initiative of Governor Yahaya Bello.
The business mogul said he would always regard the state as his second home, adding that he would do all within his capacity to give back to the society.
Represented by his Regional Manager, Engr. Joseph Ikupolokun, Dangote made the donation in Lokoja during the 2nd anniversary gala dinner held in government house in honour of Governor Bello.
The Kogi State Poor and Vulnerable Citizens Fund was launched in 2016, during the 25th anniversary of the state, where about N110m was raised to take care of people with life threatening ailments and the vulnerable in the society.
Former Senator representing Kogi West and Chairman, Kogi State Advisory Council, Senator Smart Adeyemi and wife at the event to mark the 2nd anniversary of Gov. Yahaya Bello
Other donors at the anniversary were members of the National Assembly, Kogi State Assembly members, government appointees, local government administrators, captains of industries, government contractors, friends of Kogi, including Hon Tony Nwoye from Anambra State who donated the sum of N2m.
Governor Bello who was overwhelmed by the show of love to the vulnerable and less privileged in the state, said from the fund raised in 2016, over 300 people with different health challenges between 2016 to 2017 were treated both in Nigeria and abroad.
On the lingering crisis between Fulani herdsmen and farmers across the country, the Governor said his administration was able to bring both parties to roundtable.
He added that the roundtable has brought about the level of peace and unity being enjoyed between herdsmen and farmers in the state.
“An integral part of our victory in governance since we arrived Government House is the so-called irreconcilable conflicts between herders and farmers.
“By an innovative combination of tight controls, digital surveillance, community policing, peace and conflict resolution, we have been able to bring our farmers and herdsmen to a roundtable. Today, Kogi State is free of the gruesome killings which plague some of our neighbours.
“It is therefore no surprise to us that our feats in security caught the attention of local and international observers in 2017 and Kogi State won awards and commendations for best Security Governance in the country.
“In fact, we had the graduating class at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji come to understudy our methods for possible replication elsewhere”, the governor said.
Bello added that his government “confronted the menace of kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism and other violent crimes tearing the state apart with the required aggression and subdued it.
“Today, Kogi State is as cool as a cucumber and every law abiding citizen can go about his business with peace of mind and assurance of the security of his life and properties”.
Governor Bello also said the staff screening and verification exercise in the state has ended, adding that the exercise also informed a robust reform in the public service sector.
According to him, attention was now been shifted to rebuilding the civil service and making it beneficial to “genuine workers” and Kogi State in general.
In job creations, Bello said the state kicked off with a Youth Summit last Friday, during which a scorecard on Job Creation and Youth Engagement thematic area was presented to the teeming crowd of young persons who came from all the local government areas.
He said despite paucity of funds, some of those projects were completed while many others were ongoing.
Bello therefore called on the good people of Kogi, to join hands with his team to take the state to enviable heights, saying, “we are capable of working together to unlock the mighty potentials of this state for our collective benefit, and that of posterity”.
Highlights of the event was the launching of ‘2nd Year Referral Compendium’ of the Governor’s administration and testimonies from beneficiaries of the poor and vulnerable fund through health care.