Kwara is on an unprecedented height of development that has never been witnessed in the history of the state. Thanks to the visionary leadership of our exemplary Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Indigenes of the state home and in diaspora are full of compliments and praises for the prudence of the governor to achieve such tremendous developments within a short time in office. The opposition are also in a state of shock and awe with the performance of our uncommon governor but they resorted to a smear campaign of lies and propaganda which have no effect on the masses who know better .
No wonder Governor AbdulRazaq’s re-election for a second term was again landslide and seamless.
It is the reason some former die-hard members of the opposition parties jumped the ship to share in the vision of the governor for a new Kwara where you do not have to worship a tin god to aspire for leadership positions and succeed in business.
The vision of Governor AbdulRazaq is to lay a solid foundation for a prosperous Kwara and make the state a Mecca for investors and tourists.
In his first tenure, one of his first tasks was to address the rot in the education sector. He got the state back into the good books of Universal Basic Education Commission( UBEC) which was blacklisted under his predecessor for nonpayment of counterpart funds, resulting in resuscitation of education sector in the state to the pride of all
.Over 600 schools were constructed or renovated with unprecedented improvements in the performance of students and teachers. This was further perfected with recruitment of close to five thousand teachers on merit.
Free exercise books and teaching aides were distributed to all pupils and schools in the state. Part of the positive outcome of Governor AbdulRazaq’s investment in education is that Kwara students now win laurels in national presidential debates and lead Nigeria delegations in international competitions.
Many residents of the State are giving testimonies on the effects of the Smart School System, a product of the vision of the governor. Teachers are being paid regularly and retrained for optimal performance.
In addition to SUBEB’s funding and milestones recorded , additional
billions of naira have been invested in tertiary education , human capital , technical and vocational education as well digital literacy ensuring that youths who constitute majority of the population are fully and digitally repositioned for brighter prosperity globally .
In the civil service, workers who were neglected over the years, were promoted and got arrears of their promotions and salaries. The Government also increased their wages to reflect the N30,000.00 minimum wage with full implementation in line with the minimum wage agreed between Nigeria Labour Congress and the federal government. Recently , the governor approved and released N16 billion to settle all outstanding salaries and allowances owed all local government workers by governments under the displaced dynasty . Some billions have been paid covering outstanding pensions and other categories of workers in the state . No civil servant failed to get his or her monthly salary since governor AbdulRazaq’s ‘s election in 2019 .
In his second term, the governor is consolidating on the success in the first four years. He is determined to improve the skills of young indigenes of the state and digital natives. Our amiable governor has built an innovation hub to provide platform and echo system for development in information technology. The innovation hub, when commissioned, seeks to unlock unlimited job opportunities and wealth creation for youths in the state . A second-to-none Visual Arts Centre is also ready to provide platforms for local and international artistes.
With the global popularity of the Nollywood film industry, the governor has built a state-of-the-Art Dolby Film Studio named the Sugar Factory Film Studio to attract film producers within and-outside the country and development of indigenes of the state in modern arts of film production
Beside the film studio, another project of the administration of Governor AbdulRazaq, to attract tourist to the state is the International Conference Centre. It is the first of its kind in North Central Nigeria. The Conference Centre will complement the state-owned hospitality facility being remodeled to a five-star standard.
A garment factory designed to provide jobs for the teeming youths and increase the internal generated revenue of the state has been completed The governor has equally repositioned the health sector. For instance, the State Specialist Hospital has been resuscitated with the construction of more wards and provision of standard dental and eye clinics. Additional doctors and other health workers have also been recruited. All these are in addition to renovation, equipping of hospitals and health centres across the state. The governor ensured the approval of medical programme for the Kwara State University, Malete . This has led to the upgrade of the Ilorin General Hospital to a University Teaching Hospital. This move will no doubt lead to production of more medical doctors for the state. Not only that , Governor AbdulRazaq has provided 24 hour non -stop electricity for Sobi Specialist Hospital , the new Teaching hospital and almost all other General hospitals in the state .
The administration has also built an international grain market; the Gbugbu International Market, a Shea butter factory and an industrial park at Eiyenkorin to provide easy market for farmers and expand the industrial base of the state for employment opportunities for the youths The Eyenkorin Industrial Park has provision for a 5000-megawatt electricity to boost industrialization in the state .
– Adigun is the Special Adviser on Media to the Kwara State Governor