BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
The government of Kebbi State under the leadership of Governor Atiku Bagudu is on the verge of putting the state on the map of the rich states in Nigeria. It has commenced a process that will qualify the state to be enlisted among the oil producing states in the country. Governor Bagudu said this in his inauguration speech Wednesday in Gausu, capital of the state. Mr. Bagudu said his administration was already in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to make it come to pass.
But before you start to ask when and where did the state begun to prospect for oil, the governor addresses that immediately. He said the product that gives the state the ticket to its next club is not crude oil. Rather what it has in its kitty is ethanol. Now, to convince the people that this was not a mere wishful thinking, Governor said, “we have started ethanol programme in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area and other local government areas will soon join”.
He is convinced that revenue from ethanol will not only boost the image of the state it will also enhance the urge for development. He wants to improve his records in education, health, infrastructure and agriculture.
People of the state should be happy too, knowing full well that the revenue will be judiciously used. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, according to him, has ranked Kebbi fourth among states that have been transparent in the disclosure of how public funds were used in the past four years.
Not only that, the governor said, “UNICEF, recently, reported that our immunisation coverage has improved from as low as 18 per cent to well over 74 per cent.”
So, by the time the state becomes an oil producing state, for the people it will be life more abundant.
