Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State has announced that his administration has successfully saved more than N20 billion by reclaiming and revamping 200 previously abandoned tractors. These tractors have now been put into service for the state’s wet season farming in 2024.
The governor’s spokesperson, Ismaila Isah, shared this information in a statement issued in Lokoja, the capital city of the state. Governor Ododo clarified that the decision to recover and refurbish these tractors, which were no longer functional, was driven by the current economic circumstances.
Governor Ahmed Ododo formed an engineering team to refurbish unused tractors that were acquired by his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, and left abandoned by farmers in different farm settlements within and outside the state.
Governor Ahmed Ododo managed to save a significant amount of money for the state government by restoring and putting to use 200 tractors that were previously left unused. Instead of buying new tractors, which would have been expensive due to timing, currency fluctuations, and importation challenges, the governor’s team of engineers refurbished the existing tractors.
This saved the government over N20 billion, as each new tractor with all the necessary accessories would have cost more than N70 million.
He emphasized, “Spending billions of naira, passing through the procurement processes, shipment and clearing would have been difficult. But we had over 250 tractors procured by the last administration but they were not well utilised by the same indigenes of our dear state. These are public property.
“So far, we have spent over N20bn in bringing up to 140 tractors back to life. If we were to buy 140 tractors or more, I think we should be talking about tens of billions of Naira and not minding the time it will take to ship, to clear, and we don’t have time to wait for all that.
“We are eager to give back to our people. So it’s working and the farmers can attest to that, the good people of Kogi State can attest to that.
“You can go to the workshop to see what we are doing because governance is all about cutting down costs for you to be able to serve your people.”
Governor Ahmed Ododo’s administration has invested over N7 billion to support around 10,000 farmers in 76 farm clusters across the 21 local government areas of the state. This includes providing essential supplies such as farm implements and seedlings.
We have invested N7.5 billion and we are ready to invest more on the farmers so that they will be able to go into full-scale farming. It’s a plan. We are unveiling it gradually because everyone can’t be on government payroll.
“We must all contribute, join hands together to develop our state so that Kogi State can be a good example for other states to learn from.
“Very soon, you will see what Kogi State will do in terms of agriculture. We will not only feed ourselves, we will feed other states and possibly export our agricultural produce,” the governor noted.
