Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured that President Bola Tinubu’s administration would harness Kogi’s natural resources for its citizens’ benefit.

Mr Shettima gave the assurance during a meeting with first-class traditional rulers at the state government house in Lokoja on Sunday.

The vice president was in Lokoja to flag off the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign for the November 11 election in the state.

Mr Shettima, who said Kogi was one of the most endowed states in the country, added that the people of the state have no business being poor.

He disclosed that Mr Tinubu had approved funds for constructing Ganaja road.

” Some of the portions of these roads were awarded 17 years ago; there is a need for us to revisit those contracts and, if needs be, revoke and re-award those contracts for their prompt execution,” the vice president said.

Similarly, the vice president said Kogi was lucky to have its own as the Minister of Steel Development, who is not a junior minister.

” We will make the natural resources of Kogi to work for its citizens. I was in Russia for the Russia-African Summit, where we began a conversation about the completion of the Ajaokuta and Idah Street grants.

” The projects are almost 92 to 98 per cent completed. It requires very little to bring it into function, but a hostile government in Kogi will find it very difficult to get into any conversation with the federal authorities,” he said, appealing to the residents to vote for the ruling party. 

Mr Shettima said the Ajaokuta steel project, if completed, can potentially create up to 500,000 jobs.

Earlier, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi said the state could not afford to fall into the hands of the opposition with its proximity with the Federal Capital Territory, and all the APC states sharing boundary with the state.

He assured the vice president that the forthcoming governorship election in the state would be peaceful, free, fair and credible.

(NAN)