West Africa's Largest Transport Terminal Launches In Kogi


January 20, 2016 would go down as yet another historic day in the annals of Kogi state. The day marked the launching of the ultra-modern Lokoja mega terminal in the state. About 14,000 passengers per day resulting in an expected average of about 3.5million passengers per annum will use the terminal, with a capacity of over 500 vehicles.

Kogi state which is the only state in Nigeria bordered by ten other states therefore conferring on her capital, Lokoja, the opportunities of a transport hub. Exploiting this opportunity was a major consideration by the Idris Wada led administration when it conceived the idea for the Lokoja Mega Terminal.

Speaking at the launch of the terminal, His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, “For a long time in Nigeria, Motor Parks typically convey the picture of dingy havens, where all manner of vices reign supreme. Touting, thuggery, violence, drugs, alcohol intoxication, child labor are a few associations many people have with motor parks in Nigeria.”

“FRSC published data on Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) revealed that between 2012 & 2014, there were a total of 30,532 road accidents nationwide involving 132784 passengers with 13% fatality rate. If these figures are anything to go by, then it means that road accidents have assumed the dimension of an endemic disease, and thus must be given critical attention by the government”, he added.

Governor Mimiko further added, “Strategic investment in infrastructure aimed at changing and shaping the orientation of critical stakeholders in the public transport system such as commercial vehicle operators is not only a commendable way to go, but the only one. This Mega terminal will aid in providing operators with the right psyche. And with the undeniable rise of terrorists and retrogressive elements targeting public spaces, a controlled and secured environment like this becomes imperative. I am indeed delighted that the government of Kogi state stayed true to its course of people-oriented programmes despite the extremely challenging economic times for the country.”

Describing the Lokoja Mega Terminal, the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Governor Idris Wada said, “This terminal is the flagship project of the transport masterplan, which was conceptualized by this administration for Kogi state. Facilities available at the terminal include loading bays, parking areas, shops, clinic, banking services, washing bays etc. Facilities like the motel and filling station are currently under development and will be managed in conjunction with the private sector under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law that was passed by earlier under this Administration.

The transport terminal will solve the problem of indiscriminate parking and disorganized motor park activities around the town that have contributed to creating traffic gridlocks in Lokoja. Other aspects of the transport masterplan for the state include the Lokoja subsidized bus service, the Lokoja interstate franchise service, the Lokoja intracity bus service and water transportation service. ”

It would be recalled that Governor Wada flagged off the kogi state transport masterplan with the launch of the Lokoja metro bus service in 2014. The Lokoja metro, which was the first government-subsidized public, transport service in the country, brought about a sharp reduction in transport fare from N150 to N50 within Lokoja town.

“This project is in keeping faith with my belief that as a state we must continue to look for ways to shore up the revenue base of the state. My position has been further buttressed by the economic reality of these present times wherein our dwindling allocation as a state often even falls short of our recurrent expenditures. Till date, this administration has entered into about 42 PPP arrangements nearing various stages of completion - Top of which is the 11-storey Kogi house project in Abuja”, he added.

In a related development, the Wada Administration has also completed the procurement process for the Ganaja flyover process that will ease the traffic situation in Lokoja. In addition to being the first flyover in the state, it is also the first contractor-financed project in the state. TEC ENGINEERING limited - a Chinese company that sourced its funds from the Chinese Government is executing the project.

At a ceremony to herald the project, Governor Wada said "This is not a project where we pay mobilization or advance payment. It is contractor-financed, and a window of opportunity that Kogi cannot afford to miss. This project is for all the people of Kogi, it does not belong to me".

Joseph Kuye,
Lokoja, Kogi.

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The recent postponement of the Kogi state governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier scheduled to hold on Thursday, September 10, 2015 by the National Working Committee (NWC) has thrown up a deep-rooted crisis brewing within the National leadership of the party. The postponement, according to a statement by the party’s spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, was made, due to some logistic issues pertaining to the exercise.

However, many of the delegates who were already in Lokoja for the exercise have expressed worries about the true-origin of the postponement. A visibly worried delegate who asked to maintain anonymity shared that this may not be unconnected with the fresh crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party over who leads the former ruling party.

“The latest crisis has its roots in the clamor by the North to regain the chairmanship of the PDP, barely three months after Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu resigned from the position allowing for Prince Uche Secondus, his deputy from Rivers State, to assume office as acting national chairman in June.”

Some days ago, a former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, who stormed the Wadata House headquarters of the PDP in Abuja had asked Secondus to vacate the seat, on the premise that the seat was meant to be occupied by the North.

Gulak told journalists on Tuesday that he had informed members of the National Working Committee of the PDP that Secondus should leave office immediately. He said he had submitted a letter to the NWC, informing the members that another person from the North-East should replace Mu’azu.

He said, “My visit was to bring in writing to the notice of the party my intention to replace the former National Chairman of the party, after his voluntary resignation”.

“The resignation of the former chairman was done voluntarily. And maybe due to the disastrous outing of the party in the last elections, he decided to resign as a man who wants to take responsibility for his actions”.

“The position of the constitution is that when a principal officer of the party resigns, the replacement should come from the zone from which the former person had come”, Gulak added.

Another delegate from Mopa Moro who shared the same belief as the earlier delegate said “It now seems like the national chairman is bent on fully decimating the power of the North, wherein it has only two Governors in Gombe and Kogi, so that the PDP becomes a regional party of the South and thus checkmate the cries by those in the North for his position”

“The logistics of any primary elections are majorly handled by the State Working Committees. Even as at this morning, if there was any indication of non-readiness from the party, many of us wouldn’t have left our bases. The postponement of the elections is something out of the blues as you can see many of us discussing it now”.

“My real worry now with the postponed elections is that it sits well within the framework of a leadership that is ready to foster a candidate of its choosing on the party, knowing that appeals cannot be entertained in time before the time allowed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) elapses. The elections have been postponed till Monday, 14th of September, while the INEC deadline is Tuesday, 15th of September.”

“The decision is a terrible lose-lose situation for both the party and the aspirants”, she added.

“Any aspirant that loses in an unsatisfactory manner will not have time to appeal, while any aspirant that emerges as the candidate will continually be distracted by litigations well into the campaign season of the general elections. This postponement is just a recipe for disaster”.

Following news of the postponement of the Kogi Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Gubernatorial elections, the camp of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has erupted into jubilations. This mood came on the heels of the postponement, in a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, citing logistic issues pertaining to the exercise.

“Everyone can now see that the PDP is neither a serious party nor ready for elections”, exclaimed a senior official of the APC.

“How can a party that has announced to the whole world that it would hold her gubernatorial primaries on a certain date, reschedule the elections in less than 24-hours to the initial date, and then proffer a flimsy reason such as logistics for the postponement? This is an election of less than one thousand people”, he added.

“The truth is, the PDP is scared of our candidate, and so they keep doing last-minute permutations to produce someone who can stand a chance against our candidate. Sadly enough, there is no one within the PDP that can really match our candidate better than the incumbent. Forget the media propaganda of certain candidates, if they emerge the candidate of the PDP, we will just go to sleep, because they can’t even challenge any of our party men for the chairmanship of their local government.”

“Our excitement has become heightened, knowing that with the level of disorganization and disunity within the PDP National leadership and the state leadership, they may just impose a weak candidate that will make us landslide winners in November. Or in the best case for them, they elect a strong candidate who will be however be distracted by litigations from some aggrieved members, paving the way for our victorious emergence in the general elections”, he further analyzed. “So you can see the reason for our jubilation, that there really is no way out of this disaster for the PDP, and we can start getting ready to move into Lugard House come January 2016.”

The primary gubernatorial election of the Kogi PDP has been postponed to Monday, September 14, 2015 barely 24-hours to the deadline imposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).