Kwara governor lists priorities for second term

The Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who was sworn in for a second term on Monday, said he would build on the gains of his administration during his first term.

The governor, in his inaugural speech, said he would place emphasis on the socio-economic and institutional development of the state.

“The next four years will consolidate the gains of our first tenure and lay new foundations for sustained socioeconomic development and institutional growth. We are going to deepen the reforms and investments in critical sectors like education, healthcare delivery, civil service welfare, social safety programmes, general infrastructural upgrade and renewals, focused expansion of our economic base, and promotion of a political culture that advances self-reliance and growth.

“Our spending priorities will be to complete all the ongoing infrastructural projects and iron out the business models to deliver maximum benefits to the people. Adequate attention will be focused on completing projects like the Ilorin International Conference Centre, the Revenue House, Innovation Hub, Visual Arts Centre, Sugar Film Factory, Osi and Ilesha Baruba campuses of the Kwara State University, industrial park, Shea Butter factory in Kaiama, among others.

“The General Tunde Idiagbon Flyover and the garment factory will be flagged off soon with huge economic benefits. The Ilorin Capital City Master Plan will be followed by a grander Kwara State Master Plan that will cover Kwara South and Kwara North for sustainable living,” the governor said.

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Both the governor and his deputy, Mr Alabi, were accompanied by their spouses — Olufolake AbdulRazaq and Abieyuwa Alabi — and by members of their families and friends.

He said affordable housing for civil servants would be one of his government’s priorities in his final term in office.

“Affordable housing programme will be another priority of this dispensation. This will help civil servants and other citizens to own their own homes. It will also curb unplanned construction and support decent living conditions. In this wise, we will form partnerships with private and federal government agencies to develop new satellite towns already mapped out in the Ilorin City Master Plan as well as in GRA lands in parts of Kwara South and Kwara North.

“In addition to our Kwapreneur initiative that directly puts money into ideas mostly owned by young people, we will consider an annual multidisciplinary scholarship scheme that will be open to our best brains, especially at Postgraduate Level. Beneficiaries will emerge only through a very rigorous and transparent process. I believe this will hasten the pace of human capital development in different fields, the governor added.

Citizen’s Demand and youth employment

The governor said he would also prioritise the demands of Kwara citizens in deciding which area a development project will be sited instead of government officials doing so.

“A major flaw in our developmental journey as a nation is a culture of government officials determining what projects are executed in a particular community. This has to be reversed, as we have tried to do in our first term, to allow for people-focused development.

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“For this reason, we are setting up a bureau of integrated rural development to be domiciled in the Government House. It will liaise with communities to come up with their needs in order of priority. This will allow the government to better deploy limited resources in a way that addresses popular needs. Our traditional institutions and community-based organisations will be major players in this regard.

“We shall also deepen our relationships with the organised private sector to strengthen the business climate and create jobs for our youths. This is in the realisation that government does not have the resources to do everything.

“We shall also leverage our contacts and goodwill with the Federal Government to ensure timely completion of ongoing federal roads and adequate funding for new ones. We will intensify our lobby of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the dredging of the River Niger. This will save our people from the annual flooding that claims lives and farmlands. It will also boost economic activities in its tributary states like Kwara, the governor said.

Healthcare and education

He said he would be more intentional in improving the healthcare and sanitation of the state.