Governor Fintiri: Shouldering the Burden of Transforming Adamawa
Prior to the advent of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s administration in 2019, not so many good things were there to be said about Adamawa State.
The ‘Land of Hospitality’ as the State is fondly called was one that was not reckoned with in the comity of States, in the country.
For a State that was almost ravaged by the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgency, there was every cause to think that its future looked gloomy.
But the Adamawa of yesterday, particularly pre-2019, can be said to be a stark opposite of that of today. That of today, and especially under the pragmatic, trailblazing and visionary leadership of Governor Fintiri, is one that is making Adamawa an emerging force.
The State, which was hitherto at the mercy of insurgency, seems to be fast regaining its lost glories, signposted by the prevailing peace and dividends of good governance Gov. Fintiri’s administration is serving residents of the State a la carte.
Indeed, Fintiri, without sounding hyperbolic, has proven, by all standards, to be a good manager. As the incumbent Governor of Adamawa, he has recorded significant strides in virtually all critical sectors of the State, be a leader who understands the art of governance.
His unshakeable and rock-solid determination to walk the talk by translating into concrete reality the ‘Fresh Air 11-Points Agenda’ he had conceptualized, has become the source of pride to the good people of Adamawa.
Perhaps, the most remarkable thing about the State, under Governor Fintiri, is that it is now a massive construction site. The vast landscape of the State is dotted with gargantuan, albeit legacy projects that will provide critical and essential social services to the people of the State.
In just a little over two years, Fintiri has embarked on several capital projects that are not only landmark but groundbreaking. At the moment, most of the infrastructural projects he awarded have been completed and commissioned.
Talking about ‘Urban Renewal and Beautification, the Fintiri administration has beautifully remodelled the face of the State capital and other highbrow towns in Adamawa.
The Adamawa State Executive Council, which Fintiri diligently leads, approved the construction of 2,000 Housing units at Malkohi and across the 21 Local Government Areas; construction of the first-ever flyover in the state situated at Total Filling Station Junction; construction of the first-ever grade interchange in the northeastern part of the country at the heart of the State Capital; and construction of 4.4km Yola Township Roads in Yola South Local Government Area.
There is also the construction of the 2.1km Weekly Scope Road; and the construction of 3.5km Numan Township Roads spanning across: Izala – Gweda Mallam and Rafa – Wayam roads, with stormwater drainages and box culvert.
Others are the construction of 3.8km Jada Township Roads which includes: Palace Road – 650m, Cattle Market Road – 1.50km, Prayer Ground – 1.32km, Duha Era Road – 800m and rehabilitation of 0.4km washout section along Jada-Mbulo road; construction of 3.2km Hong Township Road at European Quarters.
Again, road construction is going on simultaneously around the State capital and its environs. They include Brochure road construction, as well as the Benue Street, Kaduna, Lusaka, Abeokuta, Ndaforo, Philip Maken and Links 2.5km, Lagos Street – 1.5km, Falu Road and Links – 2.31km, Mambila and Jambutu Street – 2.7km, Old Government House Road and Links – 1.35km, and rehabilitation of NEPA Road – 2.2km.
Aside from completing road projects that were abandoned by previous governments, Fintiri’s administration also awarded contracts for the completion of selected roads at Adamawa State University Mubi – 5.3km: Mubi Township roads phase II (12.55km), Some selected Ganye Township roads (Buwangal-sangasumi road) – 7.0km, Song Bridge and Approach Roads, together with the Mustapha Ismail Street and Links in Jimeta.
There is also the construction of additional roads and links in Dougirei and part of Lekki Taba Street, resumption of work on the construction of Kiri Junction, Kiri-Shelleng Road 37.5km, and Pella – Maiha Road that was abandoned for more than 5 years.
The rural electrification wonder performed by Governor Fintiri is extraordinary. The governor, it was, whose intervention connected Toungo Local Government Area to the National Grid after over 20 years of neglect.
Governor Fintiri then midwife the reconnection of Madagali and Michika Local Government Areas to the National Grid after being disconnected for more than 5 years by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents; connection of Dumna Town in Guyuk Local Government Area to the National Grid; and installation of Traffic Lights at some selected junctions in the State Capital.
Since the advent of Mr Governor, the reinstatement of 699 Batch D1 Teachers; recruitment of over 1,000 Health Workers and 376 others who were hitherto suspended due to the faulty process of their recruitment by the past administration; and employment of 1,113 Technical Health Workers who will be deployed to the frontline of Health Security across the State, are his signature achievements in the area of employment provision.
Governor Fintiri, indeed, believes in the age-long maxim which states that: Health is Wealth. And that is why his sterling accomplishments with regards to transforming Adamawa’s health sector are second to none.
Fintiri, a year ago launched the 10m Euro Solar Nigeria Project, aimed at providing electricity to Health facilities. He also introduced free medical services to aged, pregnant women and children under 5 years old; facilitated the clearance and transportation of Medical Equipment rotting away at the port for years.
Then, he equally awarded the contract for the total overhaul of Specialist Hospital Yola; renovation of 7 Primary Health Care Clinics; renovation of Staff Quarters at Maiha Cottage Hospital; procurement of Standard Modern Incinerators for Yola Specialist Hospital and Jada General Hospital; and rehabilitation of Isolation Centres across the State, while beefing them up with essential medical supplies.
Others include the construction of Infectious Disease Control Centre, first, in the North-East; construction of a 60-bed capacity Cottage Hospital in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State, first-ever built; construction of a 60-bed capacity Cottage Hospital in Shelleng after several years of neglect by previous administrations; and construction of a 60-bed befitting Cottage Hospital in Gombi Local Government Area to reduce the stress they always go through in going to Garkida to access medical services.
When Governor Ahmadu Fintiri came onboard, he revived the condition of education in the State by introducing Free and Compulsory Education for Primary and Secondary School Students. He also paid the registration fees of WAEC, NABTEB, NBAIS and NECO for over 27,894 students across the State. He reintroduced the abandoned School Feeding Programs for both Primary and Secondary Schools.
The rehabilitation and rebuilding of School Structures across the State; construction and rehabilitation of 80 schools in Fufore and Guyuk Local Government Areas in collaboration with UNICEF; payment of matching grant to UBEC from 2016-2020 and access over 10 Billion to facilitate the construction and rehabilitation of 5000 classrooms across the State, most which have been completed; and offering a scholarship to 60 Adamawa students to Study Engineering in India, are few of the notable achievements in the education sector which Fintiri’s government recorded.
If there is one thing that civil servants in Adamawa cherish in Governor Fintiri, it is the sense of love he often showers them. He prioritizes the welfare of both workers and pensioners in the State. His government has since been implementing the minimum wage, including other consequential adjustments.
Among other things Gov. Fintiri approved, include the payment of pension and gratuity of retired Civil Servants from 2012; and payment of wardrobe allowances to the staff of Adamawa Television Cooperation (ATV Yola).
Unlike his predecessors, Gov. Fintiri, brought to the barest minimum, the incessant farmers-herders clashes, which were getting out of hand, all in his first three months in office. He also distributed about 80 Toyota Hilux and more than 100 motorcycles to security outfits in the state, while approving the payment of allowances to vigilantee groups sacrificing their lives in the frontlines.
In an effort to ameliorate the hardship caused by the COVID-19 in the State during the lockdown, the Adamawa State Governor donated 20 million to tricycle riders and distributed palliatives which include
3,948 Bags of 50kg Rice, 4,545 (25L) of Vegetable Oil, 135 Bags of 50kg Sugar, 21 Cartons of Couscous, 21 bags of 50kg Beans and 1, 530 Cartons of Tomatoes Paste, 1, 060 Cartons of Spaghetti/Macroni, among others, to the 21 Local Government Areas of the State.
That Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has empowered thousands of women and youths is not a subject of debate.
In order to give women and youths a sense of belonging and make them self-reliant, Governor AUF in collaboration with the Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation Agency (PAWECA) and Ministry of Entrepreneurship Development empowered over 2000 youths across the State through training on Barbing, Fish Farming, Poultry, Food Processing and preservation, Make-up, Photography, Soap making, Solar Installation and Web Design.
His administration has also resuscitated all the Technical and Vocational Training Centres across the State to provide skills and talents required by manufacturing and services industries within the State and beyond.
Adamawa agriculture sector is also not left out. It has benefitted immensely from the Midas touch of Governor Fintiri, who in collaboration with NECAS, distributed 600 tractors to small and large scale farmers, and then established stock shops in the 21 LGs for farmers to get easy access to farm inputs.
The administration of AUF set out on a mission to transform Adamawa State. It is already doing that in an awe-inspiring fashion, making the State a reference point in so many indices of human capital and economic development. Governor Fintiri, if anything, has in the last two years majestically shouldered the burden of transforming Adamawa State beyond anyone’s imagination.
