Olusegun Olanrewaju and Cross Udo
Despite a cocktail of powerful blasts yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari proceeded with his visit to Kogi State.

The explosions, which came in the morning at Okene, as the president and his entourage were landing in the home base of the state governor, Yahaya Bello, reports said, left no fewer than four persons dead.

The Kogi State Police Command, from the early morning blowout which occurred at about 9am near the wall of the second gate of the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Ebira land, the Ohinoyi, on Kuroko Road.

The sad incident occurred a few hours before the president’s official visit to the state to commission some landmark projects. According to the report, a vehicle and two motorcycles were burnt in the ground burst.

An eyewitness said the explosions occurred in a vehicle and motorcycle, killing the two cyclists instantly, and leaving them with charred bodies. Security operatives sealed off the area in the wake.

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“I was in the house when I heard a loud explosion,” said, adding, “By the time I came out, I saw a vehicle on fire, burning, along with two motorcycles, close to the second gate of the Ohinoyi’s palace. The explosion was so massive, with three bodies lying on the ground around the palace,” she said.

The state Police Command spokesperson, Williams Ovye-Aya, a police superintendent (SP), who confirmed the incident, described it as “very unfortunate” and “shocking.”

He said the police were on top of the situation, having already sealed off the area, while an investigation into the blasts had begun.

*Says Ajaokuta Steel will generate $1.6bn annually

Also yesterday, the president declared in Okene that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has delivered on the promises it made to Nigerians at all levels.

He added that the Ajaokuta Steel Complex will generate more than $1.6bn in annual income for the Nigerian economy, and estimated jobs of over 500,000.

At the palace of the Ohinoyi where he commissioned a health facility as part of his one-day state visit to the state, Buhari said Governor Yahaya Bello had performed creditably in his two terms as governor.

According to him, “The benefits of getting the Ajaokuta Steel Complex working again are numerous. It would provide over 500,000 estimated jobs and more than $1.6 billion in annual income to the Nigerian economy.

“Nigerians can rest assured that I remain committed to seeing this process to a logical conclusion before the end of my tenure in office.”

Commending the efforts of the APC-led government, the president noted, “We are an administration that prides ourselves in the fulfilment of our electoral promises to the Nigerian people, at both national and sub-national levels.

“This is why I am glad that we have an impressive array of legacy projects through your state government as proof of our stewardship of Kogi State.”

He added, “The APC administration has (made) indelible footprints in Kogi State. Among the many projects executed by the Federal Government are; the Itakpe to Okene bypass, Obajana to Kabba concrete road built by Dangote Industries Limited under our ‘roads for taxes initiate’ (Executive Order 7), and the Itakpe to Warri railway service, among others.

“I am very pleased to be here today to commission several projects executed by the administration of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello.”

Buhari also spoke of the determination of his administration to position Kogi State as an industrial hub and solid mineral power base.

He took the time to explain how the Federal Government achieved the resolution of all the legal entanglements that had bogged down the progress of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

He said the project stands to benefit the people of the state immensely.

The president said, “No other single project holds the key to unlocking this vast potential as much as the Ajaokuta Steel Complex which we inherited as a long moribund complex strangulating under a tangle of local and international commercial disputes.

“I am glad to report that as we begin to round off in the office, we can genuinely say that our administration has rescued Ajaokuta from all legal disabilities, and is now ready for concessioning to a private investor with the right profiles to put it to work for Nigeria in general, and Kogi State in particular.

“The process has cost this Federal Government over 400m US Dollars so far, but I consider it money well spent as we move closer to achieving our objective of transforming Kogi State into Nigeria’s iron and steel powerhouse.”

According to the president, Kogi State also stands to benefit in diverse ways when the 614 km (384 miles) AKK gas pipeline which traverses the state starts operations next year.

He commended Governor Bello “for rising to the occasion in many sectors, especially security. We are proud of him and I encourage the people of Kogi State to continue to support him and his team as they are working hard to ensure peace, security, and development in the state.”

Projects commissioned by the President include: “The Reference Hospital, Okene, which boasts of the first ever hyperbaric treatment chamber in Nigeria, as well as the fleet of ambulances attached to it.

Earlier in his welcome address, Bello thanked the president for showing leadership and for the various programmes and interventions which had positively impacted the state and her people.

The governor said this included the Itakpe-Warri Rail Line, which he noted, had brought relief to travellers and business owners in the state.

Bello also informed Buhari that the projects inaugurated were in response to his commitment to serve, stating that since his swearing-in on 27th January 2016, his administration had constituted a multi-sectoral committee that went around the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the needs of the people.

“This document has been our guide,” the governor stated.

While acknowledging the commitment of President Buhari towards the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, the governor thanked the president for his unrelenting interest in the project.

Bello also stated that his administration has a cordial relationship with the traditional institution in the state, stating that the new Ohinoyi’s palace being commissioned by President Buhari was a testimony to this.

Earlier, the Ohinoyi, Dr Ibrahim Ado, represented by the Ohi of Okengwe, HRH, Mohammed Tijjani Anage, on behalf of the traditional rulers of the Central Senatorial Zone of the State, thanked President Buhari for his support to Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration, and for being the first sitting President of Nigeria to visit Kogi State on a working visit.