The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has perfected arrangements to start a campaign of calumny against civil servants in the state.

The party is planning to hold a rally to express their grievances against the benefits civil servants have been enjoying in Kwara State under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, including prompt payment of salaries, implementation of N30,000 minimum wage, payment of allowances, among others.

They said civil servants should go back to the era of no salaries, no pension, no implementation of minimum wage among other negativities.

Recall that the state PDP had earlier sponsored a series of protests in recent times, at KWIRS, Kwara Hotel which later turned out to be a failure.

They have however planned to punish civil servants who did not follow their antics by launching a campaign of calumny against them.

Our reporter learnt that the opposition party will converge for the rally at General Roundabout on Tuesday in the morning.

Recall that Bukola Saraki who is the leader of the party and former senate president had urged his supporters to blackmail the AbdulRazaq-led administration with propaganda.

“The latest antics is following this directive. They will tell lies at the rally and try to pit the people against the government,” a source told our medium.


https://focusedinfo.com/o-suwa-pdp-begins-campaign-of-calumny-against-kwara-civil-servants-holds-rally/

Management of Harmony Holdings Limited, the investment management company of Kwara State Government, has explained that the various interventions of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq have kept the hotel afloat since 2019 when it inherited over N500 million liabilities from the previous administration.

This comes on the hills of a protest organised by staff of Kwara Hotel on Thursday over their 7 months unpaid salaries.

In a statement issued by the Corporate Affairs Unit, Harmony Holdings noted that Kwara Hotel which has 174 rooms had less than 20 percent of its rooms functioning when Governor AbdulRazaq came to power, saying this grounded its productivity.

The statement added that no less than N2 billion would be needed to upgrade Kwara Hotel and return it's lost glory.

The management of Harmony Holdings also traced the challenges facing the hotel to what it called infractions perpetrated by a consultant brought by former Governor Bukola Saraki.

It lamented that despite inheriting a newly renovated Kwara Hotel, Saraki appointed a management consultant that did not invest a dime in the hotel in clear violation of the terms of engagement.

The management consultant was later sacked by Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed who failed to bring it to justice despite the infractions and liabilities accrued, according to the statement.

It also clarified that approval had already been granted for the payment of the outstanding salaries before the staff went on strike.

This was communicated to the staff who were requested to be patient for the relevant organs of government to process the payment approval, but that fell on deaf ears for reasons best known to them, the management explained further.

Read some excerpts of the statement issued:

“The management of Harmony Holdings Limited is aware of a protest organised by staff of Kwara Hotel, one of its subsidiary companies, over 7 months of unpaid salaries. It is therefore instructive to put some records straight despite the emotions that might be attached to the issue.

“Firstly, we regret the unfortunate situation that the hotel and its workers are currently in and it is on record that we have never abdicated our responsibility as we have been doing everything within our reach as the investment management company of the Kwara State Government with the active support of the state government to fix the challenges confronting the hotel most of which were inherited from the previous administration.

“It is on record that when the current administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq assumed office in 2019, Kwara Hotel, a 172-room facility, had below 20% of its room capacity functioning. Most of the rooms which serve as revenue line were not in a tenantable condition. The hotel had also taken a weary look with so many infrastructural ruins. Similarly, there were huge liabilities running into over N500 million inherited by our management and this government arising from the mismanagement of the hotel under the last administration.

“Our task upon taking over the management of the hotel in 2019 was therefore onerous and multi-pronged. This includes but not limited to keeping the dying hotel afloat so as to sustain the current workforce many of whom are Kwarans while seeking for the most effective and sustainable solution to the long over due infrastructural upgrade which clearly requires an investment not less than N2 billion to restore the lost glory of the hotel and reactivate its brand. In addition to the above mentioned critical needs, we had to confront the huge indebtedness many of which are in owed salaries, unremited pensions and even payment to suppliers.

“The public will recall that it was at the tail end of the administration of late Governor Muhammad Alabi Lawal that the last major investment and massive facelift was done at Kwara Hotel. This meant that the succeeding administration of Governor Abubakar Bukola Saraki inherited more or less a brand new hotel which had every potential to turn the fortunes of the state around because the structure of Kwara Hotel gave it a unique edge over its competitors in the whole of Northcentral. Unfortunately for over 16 years following the exit of Governor Muhammed Lawal’s administration, no value addition was made to the hotel other than the fact that it was passed from one set of cronies to another under the guise of private sector investment in which not a single kobo was invested but rather the revenues generated from the hotel over these extended periods were looted with impunity.

“The public is rightly reminded that it was under the Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki-led administration that Austin Peters of KH Integrated Management Services (KHIMS) was appointed as a management consultant for the hotel. The terms of engagement required them to invest a minimum of Two million dollars which amounted to about Three Hundred and Sixty million naira at that time to upgrade the hotel infrastructurally and thereafter manage it for some years before ceding it back to the Kwara State Government. Clearly, there is nothing bad in inviting a management consultant to run a company, but the misdemeanour lies in the fact that this management consultant never invested a dime in Kwara Hotel contrary to the terms of engagement. To our utmost consternation, it also went ahead to borrow over N350 million from GT Bank in the name of the hotel which was totally paid back from the cash flow of the hotel with evidences showing that the borrowed funds were diverted and never invested in the hotel. A case of double jeopardy you would say.

“The management company continued to have a field day misappropriating all revenues being generated from the hotel on an average of N50 million monthly without carrying out as much as the renovation of a single room. By the end of 2016, the hotel was already in a full state of deterioration and it could no longer meet up with its obligations. It was in 2017 under the administration of Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed that this management consultant was shown the exit door leaving behind in its trail hundreds of million naira of owed and unpaid obligations both to staff and others.

“This is the sad tale of how Kwara hotel was systematically killed within a period of sixteen years due to greed, avarice and putting personal interest above the collective interest of the people. Despite the situation inherited at Kwara Hotel where most of the rooms had already become untenantable, with other facilities that generate revenue for it deteriorated, and in the face of a huge debt portfolio, the current administration has never shied away from taking responsibility and addressing the issue frontally. It was clear that tackling such an issue will take time and resources. Nonetheless, the government was very keen that the hotel must not go into extinction.

“It’s important to state that the hotel has been operating on a perpetual loss trajectory for over five years now and the major source of support has been from the various interventions we have received from the Kwara State government both in terms of deliberate patronage to keep us in business and also through bail out funds at timely intervals to augment salary payment. All through the COVID-19 period when the hotel like others shut down operations and had little or no income, we didn’t lay off a single staff, all salaries that were paid within that period was from the state government’s intervention. Till date, the hotel like some other ailing subsidiaries of Harmony Holdings have been beneficiaries of multiple rounds of bailout both from Harmony Holdings the parent company and particularly the Kwara State government.

“The current source of agitation which is the accrued unpaid salaries of 7 months has received the attention of His Excellency Governor AbdulRazaq who has graciously approved another intervention fund to clear the salary backlog and the funds is being processed by the respective organs of government. We have therefore appealed to the workers to continue to be calm in the face of the current trying period that the hotel is going through.

“Meanwhile, this government is also making efforts to confront the bigger challenge of fixing the infrastructural deficiency in the hotel. Following series of review, consultations and due diligence efforts, the current management of Harmony Holdings Limited deemed it fit to adopt the approach of engaging a very competent private sector investor with the requisite financial and technical capacity to rehabilitate the hotel, upgrade its status and manage it professionally. The Governor had consented to this proposal.

“Following his approval, a thorough bidding process was initiated and a preferred investor alongside an international hotel brand have been recommended to handle the hotel management. The investment plan is for the investor to put in no less that N2 billion in the hotel under a Joint Venture (JV) arrangement that would also see the total obligations owed to the staff cleared from the payment of the upfront premium.

“The process has also recently been approved by the State Executive Council. It is now on the table of the State Assembly for its legislative consent as representatives of the people. We understand that the Assembly will be calling for a public hearing to aggregate the inputs of Kwarans on the proposed concession before it makes its resolution. This explains the reason for the delay in the process of the new investment in the hotel, which has also affected the planned defrayal of staff obligations.

“Given his passion about the welfare of workers however, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has already approved the payment of over N26 million as an intervention in the interim to pay off the outstanding 7 month salaries. The approval has been communicated to the staff and they have been assured of payment as soon as the funds are processed. But it was surprising to see them going out this morning to protest when their representatives have always been brought to the round table to understand the situation of things. Notwithstanding the action of today, we have reassured them that every staff of Kwara Hotel will get their outstanding salaries in no distant time once the fund is released.”



https://saharareporters.com/2022/10/07/how-ex-senate-president-saraki-ahmeds-administrations-looted-kwara-hotels-revenues-16

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Holdings Limited, Mallam Abdullahi Abdulmajeed, has on Wednesday embarked on an inspection tour of Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre (HADC), a subsidiary company of Harmony Holdings in the health industry.

The centre has just taken delivery of some newly procured machines to boost its operational capacity and service delivery, following injection of fresh funds for its revitalisation by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

The GMD/CEO inspected the newly procured machines alongside some existing ones that had been repaired in both the laboratory and radiological sections of the centre.

Speaking on the sidelines of the inspection tour, the GMD/CEO confirmed that the lab section of the centre is now at 100 per cent operational capacity. He however clarified that the radiological section of the centre has only attained 50 per cent operational capacity and is primed for full operational capacity in the next one week when repair work is finalised and another set of new machines is delivered.

Abdulmajeed explained to press men how the Governor AbdulRazaq-led administration inherited collapsed machines and backlogs of obligations at the diagnostic centre.

According to him, “The first set of interventions made by His Excellency Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq concerning Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre (HADC) was to clear the backlogs of service level agreement fees due to G.E that had accumulated between 2017 and 2019 to the tune of N10 million. He also approved the disbursement of funds for the preventive maintenance of all the machines that had broken down in the centre. That was before His Excellency even settled down in office. It was about the same time he was fixing the abandoned secretariat project, tackling the water question and doing so many other interventions across sectors.

“The intervention revived the operational capacity of the centre. When I also got appointed as GMD/CEO in December 2019, we made an appeal to His Excellency for funds to fix the UPS machines that also went down at the time. We got the approval to do so and it enhanced the service delivery and operations of the company to the extent that we funded our overhead and maintenance cost from what we made during the period. I should not also forget that His Excellency at the early days of his administration facilitated the procurement of a brand new haematology analyser for the centre.”

The Harmony Holdings chief explained that the new investments come as the centre witnessed breakdown of machines some months back which affected its service delivery and operational capacity.

He added that the machines are susceptible to breaking down because many of them were aged even as at the time they were delivered under the last administration.

“They were also closed-system machines which meant that they can only be repaired by their manufacturers. Getting them to fix it took a lot of negotiations, time and efforts,” he added.

The list of machines newly procured include, Auto Chemistry Analyser, FIA Meter Plus, 2-Channel Coagulation Analyser, Electrolyte Analyser, Haematology Analyser (5-part), and Electrophoretic Machine.

The CT Scan 16 Slice Machine and Mammography Machine are also now working perfectly after repair and maintenance work, while the Fluoroscopy Machine, X-ray Machine and Ultrasound Machine are still undergoing repair which would conclude soon.

The new investment into the centre also included the renovation and facelift of the physical environment which is about the biggest since its inception.

Outstanding salaries of staff during the operational downtime have also been cleared, and there is new investment in the human capital with restaffing, restructuring, redeployment and management structure transformation.

Abdulmajeed lamented that despite sinking billions of naira into the establishment of the centre, the previous administration did not declare profit at anytime in their years of stewardship.

They also engaged Mediquip Medical Services, a consultant touted to be of international standard, to manage the centre, with no profit made or dividends sent into the coffers of the government. This is even as the previous administration continued to fund the centre under private management with subventions.

He alluded to the case of Kwara Hotel whose management was transferred to a private company without results on deliverables, noting what his administration has been doing is turnaround management to fix the rots across board.

“There was no asset replacement plan. The previous administration left hundreds of million naira in contractual obligations with BOTAD in respect of the first and only set of machines they got for the centre.”

The GMD/CEO meanwhile announced 25 per cent discount on all lab procedures of the centre for one month, starting from Thursday, September 22nd.

He said it was a way of placating Kwarans for the disappointment they witnessed during the downtime.

The chief executive wooed the general public to patronise the centre which he said now has a full operational capacity for lab procedures.

Hundreds of young people on Wednesday attended a one-day seminar organised by the British High Commission, Chevening and Kwara State Government to encourage as many qualified Kwarans as possible to apply for the Chevening Scholarships.
 
Chevening Scholarships are the United Kingdom's global scholarship programme funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations. 
 
Chevening Scholarships are awarded to outstanding future leaders to pursue a one-year master's degree in any subject and at any UK University. 
 
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who commended the British High Commission and Chevening for  extending the opportunities to Kwara youths, said the administration continues to invest in deepening life opportunities for Kwarans through qualitative education. 
 
"It is my pleasure to appreciate the organisers of the programme, Chevening Scholarship and the Government of United Kingdom, for extending the opportunity to Kwara. Your records of achievements spanning almost four decades have brought exceptional professionals from around the world to study in the United Kingdom through scholarship and fellowship", the Governor said at the seminar in Ilorin, the state capital.
 
Represented at the workshop by the State Commissioner for Tertiary Education Science and Technology, Dr Afeez Alabi Abolore,  AbdulRazaq said the current administration has contributed immensely to human capital development in the state and is willing to partner with the organisation.
 
"For instance, the Government of Kwara State, in its effort at securing and investing in the next generation, has engaged public and private sector leaders, thinkers and relevant stakeholders through interactive sessions, summit and workshops of this nature to exploring the future of education as central to the state government's agenda for growth and development", he said.
 
Commissioner for Youth Development, Hon Adamu Jamila Bake, said the present administration is committed to wealth creation through capacity building, inclusion and empowerment for young people to positively engage them.
 
"To achieve youth development in all ramifications, young people also need to be responsive and do everything possible to explore this opportunity (of scholarship) to enrich their professional and academic networks for national and international benefits", she said.
 
Senior Political Adviser to British High Commission, Abuja, Mr Wale Adebajo, said Chevening scholarship offers a unique opportunity for the youth to achieve their professional goals and gain lifetime experience.
 
Programme Officer for Chevening, Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Ladejo, said Chevening scholarship is fully funded by the Government of United Kingdom. 
 
She said about 30 million naira would be expended on each of the successful applicants, covering tuition fee, visa, ticket, living allowance, economic grant, and accommodation, among others. 
 
While explaining that Chevening scholarship was designed to develop international leadership and expertise, she adding that over 50,000 alumni of Chevening are doing great in their various endeavours. 
 
She advised the participants to take advantage of the opportunity to enrich their knowledge and widen their international collections.
 
The Chevening Scholarship, which began in 1984, has several Nigerians as beneficiaries.

• N2bn cash withdrawn a month to 2019 poll
• Govt asked to claim exemplary damages for N6bn from firms, individuals
• Raises alarms over suspicious loans
• Report confirms our fears: Gov 
 
At least N11.9bn of public funds were carted away from the treasury of Kwara State between 2011 and 2019 without any lawful tie to any project or programme, a forensic audit report has revealed, amid other mind-boggling revelations of alleged malfeasance within the period.
 
The audit also showed that N2bn cash withdrawals not tied to any project or official expenditure were made within eight days in February 2019, barely one month to the general election.
 
Speaking during the submission of the report to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday, Partner at the SSAC and Professionals Anthony Iniomoh said the report is in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue;Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent / Overhead Expenditure; Personnel Cost (Salaries and Wages); Capital Expenditure; Assets Disposed; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); Harmony Holdings Limited; amongst others. 
 
“A few highlights of our findings may be necessary for the record. Our forensic audit revealed a colossal pilfering of N11, 981,268,709 which we recommended should be recovered to the public coffers. Similarly, we recommended to the state government to prosecute certain officers and companies in addition to claiming exemplary damages on transactions totalling N6,023,358,444, amongst other key findings,” Inumoh said at the presentation of the report.
 
“This is especially so in the cases of firms that we observed were paid huge public funds without any evidence of work done on record. In one instance, records show that a firm that was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission on 14th June, 2016 was paid by the state government for a contract it purportedly executed for the state in April of the same year. It became apparent that this was a preconceived attempt to defraud the state.
 
“There was an instance of public officer getting paid at two different places for years, which is a clear breach of the law. Other infractions arising as a result of obvious conflict of interest and violation of due process were also spotlighted for the government to draw up new policy instruments to prevent such in the future.
 
“There was also a cash withdrawal within 8 days of N2.06 billion in February 2019 which was of interest to the audit. However, no documentation was made available to validate the purpose for which the money was withdrawn. There were also several other cash withdrawals within the state over the period running into billions of Naira which we could not validate. 
 
“These and others have been recommended to be referred to an Administrative Panel of Enquiry. Furthermore, the audit revealed that loans were obtained by the Kwara State Government within the period under review.

"The elements of these loans could not be validated. Above all, the bank accounts to which these loans were disbursed to and what the loans were used for could not be established or validated.”
 
The report suggested to the government to prosecute some individuals and firms indicted in the two volume report, while other issues are to be referred to administrative panel of inquiry for some individuals to explain their roles in the many  infractions.
 
Governor AbdulRazaq, for his part, said the revelations were truly disturbing but hardly surprising, given the patterns of events in those years.
 
“We thank you for the robust work. It confirms what we have been saying all along,” he added.

“We also saw that it has taken a bit of time and I know that there were certain deliberate efforts to obstruct your work. That was why it has taken some time because you have made certain complaints about that and we tried to push those that were supposed to open the doors to make the doors easy for you.

“Your report, like others, will help us to steadily put the state in the right direction to deepen transparency and accountability. We will go through the report fully and look into your recommendations.

“With few things you said know, it is mind-boggling especially withdrawing cash of over N2bn a month to the election and all sorts of infractions that took place. Certainly, we shall progress from here and do the needful.”
 
The event was attended by the Secretary to the State Governor Prof. Mamma Saba Jubril; Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Senior Ibrahim Suleiman; Commissioner for Finance Florence Olasumbo Oyeyemi; Accountant General of the State AbdulGaniyu Sani; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Abdulrazaq Folorunsho.
 
Other members of the audit firm are Tijani Dako and Bamidele Sobiye.

Former President of the Nigerian Senate Dr Bukola Saraki has charged a new decampee into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State to double up on attacking Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq with propaganda.

Saraki who is also the leader of the PDP in the state said this while formally receiving Kayode Ogunlowo who has announced his defection to the opposition party for long at his residence in Ilorin, the state capital.

Kayode Ogunlowo until his defection was a loyalist of Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Many people have said Ogunlowo doesn't have any political weight, but is notorious for passing mischievous and erroneous information on social media.

Since the fallout of the Kwara Governor with the Information Minister, Ogunlowo has always been aggressive with his campaign of calumny against AbdulRazaq.

Following his decamping, Saraki in a video over the weekend tasked Ogunlowo on attacking the government of AbdulRazaq with propaganda.

According to him, “What we have come here to do today does not end in tearing your APC membership cards and burning brooms. There is nobody that does propaganda well like Kayode Ogunlowo. The new assignment I want to give you and your fellows who we are receiving today is to use your propaganda machinery against the government of today. May God assist you.”

Meanwhile, Kwara APC has debunked the claims of PDP that 10,000 people decamped, noting only 15 Facebook jobbers defected to their party.



https://naijatrusts.com/video-attack-governor-abdulrazaq-with-propaganda-saraki-charges-kwara-pdp/

Former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki ha been booed by residents of his country home in Ilorin, Kwara State.

In a video obtained by our platform, Saraki was seeing being whisked away by security detail as shout of Ole Ole rented the hair.

This isn't the first time Saraki would be booed in his ancestral home.

In 2018, Saraki and his acolytes were pelted with stones at the Eid playing ground of the Muslim laity in Ilorin.

Video Below:



https://republicanng.com/video-ex-senate-president-saraki-booed-as-angry-residents-chant-ole-during-visit-to-his-country-home/

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday flagged off the state's Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) programme to strengthen access to primary healthcare in the state.

"Part of the efforts at revitalising the system is demand generation for the services available within the Primary HealthCare Facilities. The careful selection and training of these 200 CHIPS and 40 Community Engagement Focal Persons will go a long way in deepening quality healthcare delivery to the remotest corners of the State," AbdulRazaq said at the event held at the State's Banquet Hall in Ilorin.

"As a government, we are making deliberate efforts to ensure that our Primary HealthCare facilities are able to perform their roles in meeting the healthcare demands of their immediate communities. To achieve this, we have embarked on massive rehabilitation and upgrade of Primary Healthcare facilities, including construction of new ones where necessary.

"We have also embarked on massive recruitments of qualified hands and trained existing ones to manage our various health facilities across the state."

The governor said his administration has also commenced the payment of minimum wage to various categories of workers, including health workers in the state.

"On inception of office, we paid a huge backlog of counterpart funds. We have also been able to sustain this," he added.

"We set up a vibrant State Task force on Immunisation and PHC chaired by His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Kwara State. The outcomes of these steps are reflecting in our health indices."

AbdulRazaq also commended the health team in the sector, including the State Primary Health Care Development Agency led by Dr Nusirat Elelu, for their good job.

Commissioner for Health Dr Raji Rasaq, for his health, explained that CHIPS programme is a great achievement and big step in establishing sustainable structures in consonance with the national health care policy direction and the policy thrust of this administration.

"The goal of CHIPs is to expand access to the underserved populations and work towards raising awareness and stimulating demand for primary health care services by the community. The role of community-based health workers residing in the community in attaining this cannot be over emphasised," he said.

"Today, we shall therefore be joining other states in the country where a comprehensive link has been established between the primary health and various health programmes to leverage existing structures toward implementation of critical interventions for the attainment of common goals and objectives."

Rasaq said the community workers would provide basic services in their respective communities, ultimately linking the communities with services in primary health care facilities.

The flag-off was attended by top government officials and critical partners in the health sector, including Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, traditional rulers, development partners, as well as health workers.

Executive Secretary of Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency Dr Nusirat Elelu said the state is trying to re-imagine Primary Healthcare to a fit-for purpose PHC as envisioned by Governor AbdulRazaq who has shown unprecedented commitment and leadership in revamping the PHC system in the state.

"Everyday Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five children. Community-based programme is the most effective option to reduce mortality and the least expensive presently available," she said.

"One of the community based interventions is the CHIPS with the goal of contributing to maternal and child morbidity and mortality by creating demands for and equitably increasing access to essential primary health care services."

Representatives of WHO, UNICEF, AFENET, Rotary International and other development partners commended AbdulRazaq administration for the huge investment in the health sector which have brought positive indices to the sector within the last three years.

To State Coordinator World Health Organisation Saliu Abdullahi: "We at WHO are very much aware of your laudable programmes to the people of Kwara State especially in the area of disease prevention and outbreak responses. We are equally aware of giant strides your government has made by improving the state health indices from where it was to the current state by making available the needed resources.

"We are aware that your government has renovated more than 100 health facilities and you have also employed more than 200 health workers."

Representative of UNICEF Mobolaji Abdulkadir said: "UNICEF supports the state in the area of vaccine logistics and special mobilisation to make sure that none of our children come down with vaccine derivable diseases. I want to assure you of UNICEF's continued support to Kwara State."

Rafiu Ajakaye
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor
July 28, 2022

We read with amusement yet another statement by Kwara's most frustrated opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, the attack on the steady progress made by the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in three years.

As expected, the rejected Party in it's infantile statement and selective amnesia failed to see the laudable achievements of our exceptional and exemplary Governor in Just three years.

Like a fish out of water, the PDP whine daily on its woes out of office following O to ge, the People's revolution which swept them from power, exposed their greed and 16 years of corruption .

The people of Kwara have unanimously agreed that the PDP only brought memories of pain and misery.
They pray daily in Mosques and Churches never to witness such an evil regime again in Kwara.

The incredible progress made by Governor AbdulRazaq has shown that the 16 inglorious years of PDP reign was wasteful and retrogressive in the history of Kwara.

The people of kwara have commended the AbdulRazaq's administration for its impactful Projects and Programmes which have touched many lives across the state.

One of the achievements the opposition is fighting so hard to disprove is education. The stealing of the Universal Basic Education Counterpart fund is one of the greatest heists by the PDP government in Kwara State.

The administration of Governor Fatah Ahmed paid a counterpart fund of One Billion Naira, which it took as a loan from a bank, it waited for UBEC to pay its own One Billion Naira fund, it repaid the bank loan and diverted the UBEC fund meant for development of education in the state into private pockets. What a robbery!

The malfeasance led to the blacklisting of Kwara from UBEC and subsequently led to the deterioration of education in the State.

The delisting of Kwara State from Universal Basic Education Commission was made possible by Governor AbdulRazaq who paid 450million counterpart funds that earned the state over 7billion Naira additional N7 billion for the renovation of basic education sector.

This re-enlistment by UBEC has enabled the government to commence the renovation and construction of dilapidated schools across the State.

The state has also commenced a special programme called KwaraLearn to improve the teaching skills of teachers, this is the first of its kind in the Northern Nigeria.

The tertiary institutions were not left out, the government cleared the several months salaries owed Teachers of Colleges of Education in the State. This is in addition to financial and infrastructural support to the Kwara State University Malete, renovation of hostels, workshops and completion of 3000-seat auditorium at the kwara State poly Polytechnic and a fully-equipped 300-seat ICT Centre at the College of Health Technology, Offa among others.

The construction of the two campuses of the State University in Kwara North and South which the PDP claimed to have completed before they were sent packing has been resuscitated by the present administration.
It is sad that the PDP would want to claim an achievement with Shonga Farms which is another fleece by their leader Bukola Saraki.

We restate that there is no record of sales from the farms while at least four of the 13 farms have been sold by the PDP government without any record of transactions and that all the white farmers have left except one, Alan Jack who acts as a Scarecrow on the farm. This fraud of the PDP government has led to indebtedness to at least four Banks which attached the Property of the State Government in Abuja following a court order.

It is our prayer that the ghosts of Civil Servants and retirees who met their untimely death as a result of unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities continue to haunt members of the PDP and their leaders.

Unlike the PDP whose officials rode exotic vehicles while salaries of teachers and other civil servants were unpaid, schools buildings dilapidated, healthcare delivery collapsed, the governor only recently procured official vehicles for his commissioners after three years.

While the PDP government was unable to pay the 18 Thousand Naira minimum wage while in office, Governor AbdulRazaq has been paying 30 Thousand Naira minimum wage, promoted and recruited about Five Thousand teachers.

It is also laughable that the PDP describes some of the projects by Governor AbdulRazaq as elitist. This is either a mischief or ignorance.

In a digital world where most jobs entails knowledge of IT, only members of the PDP failed to see the need to equip our young ones to compete for jobs with their counterparts around the world.

We have also heard some illiterate members of the PDP described the Visual Arts Center as a Dance Hall. For the purpose of education, the Visual Arts Center will provide opportunities for Artistes, support the Kwara State University Film School and complement the up coming Film Studio in Ilorin. These will create more jobs, attract investments and Tourists to the State.

The AbdulRazaq's administration has an Unprecedented achievement in the health Sector. Unlike the PDP whose leader, Bukola Saraki used the Diagnostic Center to launder Kwara money, The Governor has upgraded the Ilorin General Hospital and got it's approval as a Teaching hospital. This is beside the rehabilitation, equipping, and recruitment of health workers for several Hospitals and health centres across the State.

Kwarans can testify to the massive road infrastructure embarked on by the present administration. Road construction cuts across the State. Unlike the PDP government, road construction are in every Senatorial districts while Rural roads partly funded by the World Bank and the State Government are underway to boost Agriculture, attract investments and cut travel time in all part of the state.

We reject the blackmail by the PDP to continue the use of the Asphalt plant fraudulently procured under its administration. The State Government would not continue to give free money called maintainance allowance to it's lackeys managing the plant when price its product is more than that of the private plants.

We restate that the PDP laid the foundation for Cultism and Armed Robbery in kwara.The Party provided abode for these criminals while in government. The sixteen years of PDP administration were characterised by reign of violent Criminals popularly known as the "Good Boys" across the State.

The "Good Boys" were used to terrorize innocent residents in the city and various parts of the State.
Cultists were on the Payrolls of their Government and were promptly paid monthly while Civil Servants and pensioners were unpaid for several months
The PDP Government provided safe haven for Armed Robbers who attacked a Bank in Offa. The robbery claimed several lives including a pregnant woman and police officers in duty at a nearby Police Station. It is public knowledge that all the suspects arrested were the Good Boys of the PDP .

This menace and other mess created by the PDP are being cleared by Governor AbdulRazaq.

Kwara PDP should stop playing the Ostrich and face the reality that there is a new dawn in Kwara Politics. The people will no longer tolerate jackals who are waiting to devour what belongs to the people of the state. They want a state they will be proud of. They no longer want to be serfs in a feudal system destroyed in the 2019 elections.
It is a new Kwara where Government works for the people and not the few as it was under the PDP

Signed:
Alhaji Bashir Adigun
SA Political Communications to the Governor of Kwara State

The kernel of our electoral campaign to the people of Kwara State is to restore the dignity of the Kwara person, redeem the lost glory of the state on all fronts, ensure inclusive growth, and reposition it for greatness and competitiveness in Nigeria.  At the heart of this campaign is quality education and human capital development — an area that is critical for inclusive growth and upward social mobility in the knowledge economy.

We are clearly delivering on this score. In addition to getting our state off national (UBEC) blacklist and freeing our schools from WAEC sanctions, progressively committing huge resources to rebuilding basic schools, as well as injecting new 4,700 competent teachers into our classrooms, this week we are rolling out the first phase of our flagship education transformative programme: Kwara Leading Education Achievement and Reform Now, or KwaraLEARN.

This is in realisation that getting education right from the foundation will support our achievements in infrastructural development, agriculture, technology and social services, and open up new vistas of opportunities that will promote common good.

Our flagship education programme takes the baton from pre-existing transformation programmes in Lagos and Edo States, both of which are local solutions already delivering value. We have understudied and have now made it fit for our own system here in Kwara.

This is a lifetime investment that empowers teachers and gives public school pupils the best shot at 21st century education with reverberating effects on learning outcomes and the future of the state. The KwaraLEARN programme affords our teachers the right digital tools to be at their best, while providing an electronic platform to make classrooms and schools transparent. The technology will monitor attendance and performance of pupils and teachers in all classrooms, offering continual support and feedback.

As a new term begins, we are not just discussing how to improve our schools and classrooms, we are implementing new approaches and techniques. We are taking action.

We are taking the future of our state and shaping it with a carefully designed policy which places Kwara as an innovation capital in Nigeria and West Africa’s economic growth.

Over the last few weeks, 3,500 of our teachers have been trained in the use of new digital technology and proven pedagogical techniques designed to support them in delivering the best possible lessons to their students. Thousands more will be trained in the subsequent phase of the programme.

Our aim is to transform every government primary school and, in doing so, transform the learning outcomes for every Kwara child.

To do this, we are empowering all our primary teachers with the right digital tools to be at their very best in the delivery of expertly planned lessons based on our national curriculum. This is supported with an electronic platform to make classrooms and schools transparent.

The technology will monitor attendance and performance of pupils and teachers in every classroom, offering continual real-time support and feedback. Bespoke coaching programmes will support every teacher in their classroom. KwaraLEARN helps our teachers to become highly-skilled, through training and motivation to succeed at their job. And it will provide Kwara’s learning leaders, our State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), with unprecedented levels of knowledge and information about the success of every single state primary school.

This approach, combining structured pedagogy with the gathering of real-time data for accountability and feedback, is one recommended by the World Bank, as governments everywhere deal with the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and the school closures which accompanied it, on children’s education.

In Nigeria, we know that transformational reform cannot be delayed. A recent UNICEF assessment suggested that 70% of 10-year-olds across the country cannot understand a simple sentence or manage basic numeracy.

This has been worsened in Nigeria and elsewhere by Covid-19 which caused huge damage to our education system and our communities. As we in Kwara emerge from the pandemic, my team and I are taking action to ‘build back better’. We envision a state that policymakers refer to as a successful model of education reform post-pandemic.

We are therefore determined to deliver dramatic improvements in learning outcomes for our children across Kwara State. Not only is access to quality education their right, improving their numeracy and literacy skills will allow our pupils to compete with their peers anywhere in the world.

We believe that the path to prosperity is through the education of the Kwara child. Along with our phenomenal investments in physical infrastructure and other things, education underpins economic growth, stability, and sustainable development.

We are confident that the KwaraLEARN programme will be an outstanding success and birth measurable improvements in learning outcomes delivered quickly. Our technical partners, NewGlobe, have already delivered them in support of similar programmes in Edo and Lagos States, and we trust them to do a lot more to partner with other stakeholders towards returning basic education in Kwara State to the dream of our founding fathers.

UNESCO’s New Social Contract for Education calls on governments to focus on “placing greater emphasis on improving learning outcomes in our education systems, and employing new techniques and methodologies that have been proven to yield better results for our students”.

This is precisely what we are doing through KwaraLEARN. We are adopting an approach proven in the Global South, and more importantly within Nigeria, suited to our unique circumstances, away from a historical focus on the replication of ideas and institutions from the industrialised North.

KwaraLEARN represents our vision for a stronger and more prosperous Kwara. A Kwara that is recognised in Nigeria and across West Africa as a leader in reforms that will deliver economic growth and more sustainable futures for our population. KwaraLEARN  will transform all government primary schools across the state into powerful public schools, moving them from an analogue approach to one of digital transformation. 

This transformational approach to our education system will deliver radically improved outcomes for our children. That success will be seen quickly, giving this generation of children the potential to transform Kwara State.

•       AbdulRazaq is Governor of Kwara State

The Kwara State Commissioner for Communications, Hon. Olabode George Towoju, has described the administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a pace-setting one.

Towoju said this against the backdrop of the forthcoming third anniversary of the present administration in the state later this month.

While reeling out the achievements of the governor, he noted that for the first time in the history of Kwara state, the state executive council has consistently been 35 per cent affirmative action compliant.

According to him, this has earned both the governor and Kwara state, national and international recognitions as a firm believer in gender equality.

Towoju, who said that working with the governor is a "dream come true," submitted that Governor AbdulRazaq is a true Kwaran who "puts Kwara first in all he does."

"I am lucky to work with the administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. The synergy is there. He is a son of the soil who does not want Kwara State to lack any good thing and he works day and night to achieve the Kwara dream."

" I particularly love what the governor is doing for our aged ones under the "Owo Arugbo programme"

There is also "Owo Ishowo" to help people's businesses. All these, are parts of efforts to alleviate poverty in our dear State and it is a thing of joy to witness a time as such," he added.

The Communications Commissioner said the Agencies his Ministry is overseeing are all working harmoniously to promote the state and he praised their General Managers for their proactiveness and love for the state.

Speaking on the state of the state-owned media houses, Towoju said that journalism has never had it this good in the state, as the governor is steadily restoring the lost glory of the three state-owned media houses; this he said is evident in the recent non-stop broadcasting of quality contents by both Kwara State Television Authority and Radio Kwara.

He added that the new radio station, Nootia FM in Okuta, Baruten local government, is also a testament to this fact and he also spoke about the improvements recorded in the Herald Newspapers.

BEING A TEXT OF SPEECH DELIVERED BY KWARA STATE ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS (APC) CHAIRMAN, PRINCE SUNDAY FAGBEMI AT THE INAUGURATION OF STATE EXECUTIVE OF THE PARTY, IN ILORIN,

KWARA STATE

1. Courtesies....

2. The Stakeholders of Conscience started the struggle to Kwara liberation over 20 years ago to liberate Kwara from the shackle of godfatherism.

In the process of achieving the success we are currently enjoying today, some of us fought and reconciled, while others reconciled and fought again. Some of us parted ways based on principle, interest and disagreements, while others bridged gaps and form stronger bonds. We have cried and laughed together on different occasions and we continue to push forward. One thing I have learnt in our journey to liberation is that, the journey of this nature, involving huge numbers of people and managing diverse interest and expectations, patience is an inevitable ingredient.

3. Life is not static, we will disagree and agree, fight and mend fences, sometimes spit in our respective faces, then help each other clean it up again. That is the nature of human interactions and we went through all these processes before God finally crowned our efforts through our great party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2019.

4. The destiny of Kwara State was entrusted to us by the people of Kwara State, under the able leadership of our progressive governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and since 2019, when our dynamic leader, Governor took over the mantle of leadership, he has hit the ground running and instantly embarked on numerous intervention programs to rescue different sectors of our state from the verge of collapse.

5. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say that, in the last twenty (20) years since i have been an associate of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, I understand that the governor has always returns good gestures in like terms. It may require a little bit of time to balance the equation, but certainly, all those who have legitimate complain will be listened to and their concerns will be addressed.

6. Today, it is less than 3 years since Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq took over government, but all the 16 Local Government Areas of Kwara State has not remained the same, in almost all sectors.

7. In the education sector, while the past government literally killed our education sector, the government of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is currently rehabilitating 600 schools, in addition to the 37 schools already renovated. The state government has also conducted the most transparent teachers recruitment exercise in the history of the state, in which only merit is the determining factor in selection process;unlike the status quo (who you know) which is the hallmark of the past administration.

Our aim as a party, is to support government to restore the standard of public

education and return the state to its glorious days as the best destination for

quality education in Nigeria.

8. In furtherance of this objective, logs of outstanding promotion of our Teaching Service Commission staff as well as SUBEB counterpart have been recently cleared.

10. For the first time since its founding in 1967, Kwara can boast of a general hospital that is worth that name in facilities and in accreditations. Until now, the premier general hospital had no functional intensive care unit (ICU) facility. No state hospital had any. Today, the AbdulRazaq administration has delivered a 12-bed ICU that is not just the largest in central Nigeria but is equipped with modern gadgets that include ventilators, patient monitors, defibrillators, syringe pump, suction machines, infusion pumps, and appropriate ICU beds, among other medical tools required to manage patients in critical condition. Similar investments have been made or are in the works in a few other general hospitals, including Offa, Okuta, and Lafiagi.

decided to abandon the project and allow it go to waste, while the people continue to suffer from lack of water. On the verge of the election, we all saw how they suddenly became "Mai ruwa" shamefully transporting water with tanker to their friends and associates. But today, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has not only fixed the water challenges in the state capital, the government is always fixing it across the 16 local government areas, all within the space of less than 3 years. What they couldn't do for 16 years, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has done in less than 3 years. To the best of my knowledge, The Asadam water works, which serves about 95% of Ilorin metropolis is now in good condition, delivering drinkable water to every community and households in the state capital. The gesture is not limited to the central, go to kwara south (Igbaja and Oro-ago water works) and the northern part of the state (kiaima, lafiagi, patigi, Share and Gwanara water works) are all now in good working condition. This is apart from the hundreds of motorized borehole bestowed on various communities across the 16 local governments of kwara state.

15. Ladies and gentlemen, In view of these positive developments, all that is left for us as a party is to put our house in order. Putting our house in order cannot happen without descipline within the party. We will therefore begin by ensuring that there's descipline within the party.

9. In the health sector, covid 19 pandemic showed us how tremendous the administration of Abdulrahman has worked to improve our health system. According to World Health Organization, Nigeria is one of the 4 countries in the world, whose response to COVID-19 was adjudged as the best and most impactful and Kwara State is one of the reasons why Nigeria had such positive rating. According to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Kwara State is amongst the 4 most active and responsive States in the management and control of COVID 19 in Nigeria. Before Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq came onboard, many are dying across our hospitals due to lack of oxygen. The state oxygen plant had collapsed and abandoned. But the administration had not only fixed the oxygen plant, as a matter of fact, the oxygen plant was part of Kwara's saving grace during covid 19 pandemic, because it supplied regular oxygen to the state, which helped us save many lives.

11.

On road infrastructure, even the blind can see that the administration has been unrelenting. Based on available records, there are over 150 construction and rehabilitation of road projects going on across the 16 local government areas of the state. The administration has paid unprecedented attention on rural and urban roads to reduce travel time, boost productivity, and encourage investments in agriculture. Over 700 kilometres of rural roads and several river crossings linking farming communities are to be fixed under the World Bank/Kwara partnership within the next years made possible with the government's payment of N400m counterpart funds between 2019 and 2020.

12.

The social investment program of the state are even more interesting, especially with the enactment of law by our vibrant state assembly to make it a permanent feature of our state to not only provide welfare support for our people, but to also stimulate the economy. Kwara State Social Investment Programme, initiated by the Governor, is the largest (and, according to the Bank of Industry, the most transparent) safety net by any subnational government in Nigeria today. The four-pronged scheme targets poor and vulnerable elders, petty traders, young people, and school-age children. These are Owo Arugbo (which currently has at least 10,000 elderly beneficiaries); Owo Isowo with no fewer than 21,000 beneficiaries; K-power for youths with over 13,000 trained in digital marketing skills; and Ounje Ofe, free food, designed for schoolchildren..

13. For youths who are concerned about what the future holds for you, you all know that the current administration is not only preparing you for that future, it is giving you the responsibility and empowerment from now. While 70% of appointment made by this administration has been given to youths below the age of 40, numerous empowerment initiatives such as kwaraprenuer, kwarapitch, kwaratech etc have been rolled out to productively engagement the youths in meaningful activities. This is a good development because as elders, right before our very eyes, we can see that our younger ones are indeed ready to take on the world with required skills and mentality.

14. Additionally, if you do not know any sector, in which the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has transformed the state. At least, you should be aware of the water sector. Before the Otoge administration, you are all aware of the shameful manner, in which the defeated dynasty deliberately refused to provide water for 16 years. Even though late Governor Lawal had made significant investment to make water available, the Saraki dynasty

16. The party shall also embark on genuine reconciliation to win back our aggrieved members into the party. We shall not relent in our efforts to unite the party and match collectively to 2023, to not only deliver victory for APC across board, but to do so with better margin compared to what we had in 2019.

Finally, I would like to urge all aspirants in the party to embark on their ambition with the sense of decorum and sportsmanship.

The aspirants should have robust engagement with the members of the party in seeking for their support and they should not castigate one and other under the guise of campaign. We are one big family and even if we are competing, we should do it with all sense of responsibility.

Thank you and God bless

APC

Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP) alone could lift as many as 500,000 people out of the poverty net within the next five years, according to a report by a research team of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji.

Written by Group 5 of the Exercise Nigeria Study Tour from the AFCSC after its visit to Kwara in 2021, the report dwelt on the links between socioeconomic development (SED) and national security with a special focus on Kwara.

The report commended the state government for introducing the safety net programme which it observed has had positive impacts on the citizens, and recommended that it be extended to benefit more people, especially youths.

“KWASSIP was launched in 2020 to support petty traders and the vulnerable as well as to alleviate as many Kwara indigenes as possible out of poverty,” it observed.

“KWASSIP also provided interest-free loans to private school owners during the COVID-19 school closure. Additionally, since the launch of the scheme in 2020, about 60,000 people have benefited from the programme.

“Most of the beneficiaries were discovered to be youth. These account for about 4 per cent of the working population. This represents about 13.6% of the total population of the state. This development is commendable; therefore, Kwara State Government could expand the programme to cover a wider population of the Labour force.

“It is projected that if properly sustained, the programme could lift about 500,000 low-income earners out of poverty within the next five years. This programme, if sustained, could improve SED in Kwara State and by extension enhance national security.”

The report also encouraged the government to support more private businesses to thrive in the state, especially those in the agricultural value chains because of the comparative advantage of Kwara with rich arable land.

It said the state could also strike a deal with the Bank of Industry to provide assets finance for some of the startups, particularly those that require equipment and expansion.

Forwarded to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq by AFCSC Commandant Air Vice Marshal OA Tuwase, the report of the ‘exercise Nigeria study tour 2021’ comes as KWASSIP last week announced an ambitious plan to support additional 100,000 artisans, farmers, and businesses owned by young people with grants/loans.

Last year, the initiative supported 170 startups owned by under-35s with non-interest loans of between N250,000 and N3m apiece.

KWASSIP, established by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq via legislation by the House of Assembly, is the largest safety net programme by any sub-national state in Nigeria.

No fewer than 10,000 poor and vulnerable senior citizens also get paid stipends to support themselves every other two months.

The new media team of Kwara APC has congratulated the Chairman of the State Chapter of the party, chief prince Sunday Adeniran Fagbemi over the oath of office taken today 7th of March, 2022.

Chief Fagbemi who was present at the Abuja headquarters office of the party was sworn in as the chairman of the kwara APC before Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru PhD.

The media team who had declared support for the chairman since his appointment as the chairman is also looking towards a strong working synergy with the office of the chairman to further strengthen the media outreach of the party and also to further promote the good work of Kwara APC Government under the leadership of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

In the capacity of the media role being played by the party new media team, we enjoin prince Sunday fagbemi to continue his exemplary leadership in the inclusion of youth in policy making and programs.

The team has counted on the rich experience of the newly sworn in chairman of the party in smoothly piloting the affair of the state APC. Fagbemi has been in the game for quite a long while with ample milestone achievement to display!

The residents of Gaa-Akanbi/Agbabiaka in Ilorin South Local Government of Kwara State have lauded the efforts of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq over the rehabilitation of their road.

It was gathered that the road has been in deplorable condition since the last administration and suffered neglect despite being awarded for rehabilitation/construction many times by the same government.

The residents commended the governor for coming to their aid, saying the rehabilitation of the road will relieve the commuters from unnecessary traffic jam.

A shop owner along the road, Mrs Margaret Ajiboye also expressed her happiness, noting that in the short time, her sales has improved drastically unlike before that customers found it so difficult to stop by and buy from her because of the the dust they were likely to inhale due to the condition of the road.

Ajiboye prayed God to strengthen the Governor as she and her household are set to play their part to ensure the governor's good work doesn't stop

Meanwhile, the Tricycle Owners Association on Nigeria (TOAN), Gaa-Akanbi chapter and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) have heaped praises on the governor for his gesture, saying, the rehabilitation of the road is timely.

Their representatives, Chairman Sulyman Mustapha, Afolabi Sulyman and Omotosho Abduquadir, in their separate submission described the governor as "people's friendly governor" because he listened to their plight and put smiles on their faces with the road.

They said their tricycles got damaged easily and they spent most of their profits on repairs and purchase of spare parts, thanking the governor for changing the narrative.

They vowed to support the governor 100 percent in his bid for second term, stressing that, with the good works he has been doing since inception, coupled with the rehabilitation of Gaa-Akanbi-Agbabiakan road, it is a must to vote him once more so that he can continue transforming the state.

Kwara State Government has listed some conditions to allow fish farmers within the precincts of the Asa Dam to continue there, with Ministry of Water Resources lamenting the negative effects of their activities on public facilities and water supply to the people of the ilorin metropolis.
 
In a communique issued at the weekend following a stakeholders’ meeting held with the fish merchants, Commissioner for Water Resources Hon. Wahab Femi Agbaje (Whyte) said all the fish farmers must stop discharge of their effluent into the dam immediately.
 
He also directed that 250metre minimum setback stated in the law should be maintained by all the fish farmers operating by the Dam side.
 
“It has also been agreed that government must now have the data of and certify all the fish farmers operating in Asa-Dam area, while a seminar will be organised for all of them on safety measures by the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA),” the communique stated.
 
“Effluent treatment machines of affordable cost should be procured for use by the operators, while KWEPA will carry out routine inspections of their activities for public safety.
 
“It is also recommended that the fish farmers operating around the Dam area should be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture.”
 
The communique observed that the effect of fish farming operator's activities along Aliara, Egbejila, Panpo and other areas has reached an alarming stage, adding: “The effect of effluent being discharged into Asa Dam lake has great impacts on the water supply facilities in Asa-Dam waterworks, such as GRP I beam that supports the lamina tube sand filtration media equipment, resulting into high wastage.
 
“The discharge of effluent to the Dam increases the cost of treatment of water and reduces the quantity of treated water supply to the citizenry. This has to be addressed now.”

Nigerian youths have showered encomium on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State over the peaceful conduct of Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial primary election.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been in Osun since yesterday preparing ground for today's election, which has been described as generally peaceful and free of any interference.

The youths said Mallam AbdulRazaq proved his mettle as the governor of Kwara State by conducting a free and fair election in the Osun guber primaries.

During the exercise, the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led Osun APC Governorship Primaries Committee went to different wards, including those of the aspirants to ensure a rancour free election.

The exercise has also been adjudged peaceful, fair and credible by several independent observers and one of the aspirants.

A television personality, Babajide Otitoju attested to this fact when he took to his Facebook page to commend the exercise.

Below are the comments of some Nigerians on the exercise believed to be one of the best so far in APC.

This is the first genuine direct primary election in APC. - Ajibola AbdulKadir

Livestream videos everywhere filled with party members in different wards. Kudos to the APC leadership, the primary committee and our party members in Osun. - Adejare Ibrahim

Today, I love the Kwara State Governor the more!
I love men who do stuff to maintain the good name they have! He refused to be messed up! He followed the natural way of obtaining validity. - Zara Onyinye

This is contrary to what his colleague allowed in my State! Kwara Governor na person. He even went to one of the aspirants ward to make sure everything goes well. - Dapo Ogunbayo

In the same development, the Kwara Central Representative in the Nigerian Youth Parliament (NYP), Hon. Ibraheem Abdullateef said the Kwara Governor has done it again.

According to him, "Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is making a cakewalk of the Osun APC guber primaries analysts had tipped was going to be a gruelling, violent contest.

"As a chairman of the committee, his calm mien and impartial disposition has helped to calm the frayed nerves, gain the confidence of the contestants, stakeholders and party members, and is instrumental to the conduct of a free and fair #OptionA4 exercise so far. It is an attestation of his acceptance in the national configuration of APC and sterling leadership qualities.

"AbdulRazaq has a long history of pulling off the impossible. This has not been different. I am proud of him. I am impressed by the good job he is doing with Senator Ibrahim Yahya Oloriegbe and members of the Osun APC Governorship Primaries committee" he said.

Kwara State Government on Thursday said the state had been fraudulently negotiated into underwriting the debts incurred by the former administrations in the name of Shonga Farm, a venture it said was funded 100% at inception with taxpayers money without any gains accruing to the people of the state under whatever guise.
 
At a press briefing to explain the recent take over of two Kwara properties by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) owing to about N1.7bn debts of the Farm,  the government said more than a cumulative sum of N5bn of public funds and loans secured with the government as guarantor have been sunk into the agricultural project with no traces of any dividends to the people of the state.
 
The press briefing was jointly addressed by Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Salman Jawondo (SAN); Commissioner for Communication Hon. Bode Towoju; Special Adviser to the Governor of Political Matters Lateef Alakawa; Special Adviser to the Governor of Political Communication Bashir Adigun; and Group Managing Director of Harmony Holdings Abdullahi AbdulMajeed.
 
The government said out of the 13 autonomous farms set up with public funds, nine had been sold out with no kobo paid to the public coffers, even when the government is supposed to hold a paltry 10% equity in each of the farms. 
 
The government explained that the reason AMCON took over the Kwara properties in Abuja is to recover the bad loans that the Farm owes a consortium of banks that invested in it dating back to 2007 because the Shonga Farm Holdings could not pay back on the agreed timeline. 
 
It said AMCON had to hold the state responsible because it is listed among the shareholders of Shonga Farms Holdings Ltd, even though its share — allocated to it only after public noise in the early 2000s — is not anywhere commensurate with its huge investments in the project.
 
Asked why the government has not taken legal action against the perpetrators of the alleged fraud, Jawondo said crimes perpetrated through fronts and companies take years to unravel and that government will take action once it gathers every document necessary to do so, including files and transactions tucked away by previous officials.
 
For instance, the sale of nine farms – in which the government ought to have 10% equity shares - was done secretly without any document left for the government to trace how the transaction was done, at what amount they were sold, the billions of naira proceeds of the sale, and who the buyers were, while no board resolution existed to show that shareholders consented to the divestment process in line with the law, according to Jawondo and AbdulMajeed.
 
“When such mind boggling frauds are committed using companies and fronts, it may take many years to unravel the web of conspiracy. It is not enough to prosecute for the sake of mere prosecution. But rest assured that we will prosecute everyone involved when we get all the evidences,” Jawondo said.
 
“By section 61 of AMCON Act, a debtor or a debtor's company is defined to include directors or shareholders. That is where Kwara State properties came in. As a shareholder in Shonga Farm Holdings (however little these afterthought shares are, compared to our investment), we are liable for the failures of the farm. What happened was that three out of the five banks who later invested in the Shonga Farm sold their debts to AMCON. So, AMCON inherited these debts and started pursuing Shonga Farm Holdings (which included Kwara government) to come and pay. 
 
“At a point they negotiated and they were allowed to pay a little less than a billion naira within a time frame. They were left with N283 million. They could not pay within the time limit. Don't forget I said that this loan went to small small farms, not even Shonga Holdings. In fact, this Shonga Holdings was just a body established without anything doing other than managing these small farms. Then, they now exited (after fraudulently activating Clause 17) which means that Shonga Farm Holdings has nothing in these small farms again. The 60% even given to Kwara is already gone. You can see the scam. 
 
"So, as far as AMCON is concerned Kwara is still a shareholder in Shonga Farm Holdings, even though it is doing nothing. It was on this basis that AMCON approached the Federal High Court and sought an attachment of Kwara properties. This basically means we are responsible for the woes of Shonga Farm even when no dime or dividends have come to the people of Kwara State despite its huge investments there.

"And you know why they did that? I have read online of people asking why they picked Kwara and not other debtors. The Kwara state government is the big elephant in this matter. Kwara State government is the most vulnerable in these circumstances. So if you people are claiming they had not used the kwara state property to secure the loan, yes, directly; but indirectly, they have siphoned Kwara State government money. They practically have negotiated Kwara state into debt."

Apollo otherwise known as acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is a pandemic of a new enterovirus infection of the eyes. In June 1969, an epidemic of a new type of conjunctivitis was reported in Accra, the capital of Ghana but was nicknamed Apollo because it coincided with the time of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. The incubation period is 24 hours or less and was found three years later in Japan where ophthalmologists called it Acute Hemorrhage Conjunctivitis (AHC). Like every disease of the eyes, it impedes one's vision and discomforts the eyes.

Sight is power. Seeing is believing. A man cannot go far in life except his sight is above the blurring mirages of life. We are controlled by what we see than what's heard. Just close your eyes to understand what visual impairment means. It's a dark world where everything and anything is better imagined than real. We solely rely on the interpretations of others and it doesn't matter whether they are right or wrong because we do not have the power to judge.

The Apollo leadership best captures the case of Kwara PDP, the major opposition party in the state whose loyalists' sight appears fairly challenged, struggling to see the progress the state has achieved from 2019 to date. They have neither seen the construction and rehabilitation of educational infrastructure that has been left to rot since 2013 nor the unbiased recruitment of qualified teachers into the education system.

They are still scuffling to behold how the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq led administration despite inheriting billions of naira in unpaid salaries, pension and gratuities is fixing the decay with prompt salaries as and when due, sorting of promotional arrears for senior secondary school students or how pensioners are more happier with the N100 million monthly payment of gratuities from an insufficient N30 million monthly pay.

Apollo convinces us that nothing is wrong really as it would fade away in a moment but who doesn't know that we are challenged from facing the sun unhurt? Kwara PDP sees nothing wrong with the dilapidated Oro and Lafiagi General Hospitals, shortage of basic and resuscitative equipment at the General Hospital.

As a matter of fact, the opposition wants Kwarans to easily forget that 27 primary healthcare centers have been fixed so far while more doctors and nurses have been employed which has boosted the confidence in the state public health facilities. They are not concerned that the state has recorded over 1 million attendance in public secondary health facilities while primary care attendance improved to over 300,000 cases. A percentage increase of more than 500%. Flabbergasting!

Does it matter to the opposition that deaths due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth in Kwara State reduced from over 1000 to 20 per 100,000 deaths, the second lowest in the country? Or the undeniable fact that death of an infant before his or her first birthday reduced to 0.4 from 2.6 per 1000 live births?

Do we need to clear the debris in the eyes of the Apollo leadership that the state moved from 36th position in 2019 to 18 in 2020 with immunization coverage level in the whole 16 local government areas?

Is it possible to say the effect of Acute Hemorrhage Conjunctivitis is responsible for opposition’s blurred vision to not have noticed the ongoing dualisation of Yebumot-AlHikmah-Adeta Road, completed section of 33km Ilesha Baruba - Gwanara road amidst the deplorable state of that road in time past nor the ongoing construction of 11.1km Osi-Obbo Aiyegunle Road?

Apollo leadership will bring nothing, but piecemeal interventions as real dividends of democracy. It's like the sumptuous title of Soyinka's book: 'The Beautification of Area Boys'.

For example, the much celebrated Saraki welfarism package, Ile Arugbo where old women walked 3 to 5km to receive N300 and eat stale food was replaced with a state-funded and more dignifying social investment program as a decent alternative to what obtained in the past with a legislated and data-driven Owo Arugbo which saw the vulnerable getting stipends in their respective houses.

Even petty traders and youths who are often used for political thuggery have been empowered via Owo Isowo (non-interest loans) and Kwapreneurs which ensured that 170 youths received between N250,000 and N3 million, depending on the scale of their business and viability of their proposal, as judged by a neutral panel.
This is indeed beyond Apollo leadership



Apollo leadership will only give rise to lilliputian leader. With a lilliputian leader, you celebrate mediocrity. This is why we cannot afford to be plundered again. Everyone in Kwara State can testify to the sanctity in the governance space.


Whatever the shortcomings, the administration has set up various agencies to check institutional gaps that allow wanton misuse of public funds

Mediocrity of having over 6,000 households without access to clean water in 2019 has changed to over 10,000 household with constant and potable water in 2020. More than 8 waterworks have been fixed while 2 are currently undergoing construction.

Apollo is contagious and we have suddenly seen in the exact direction of the Apollo representative to the extent that it's difficult for us to glimpse at the shining sun.

Those who want to follow Apollo leadership can't see reasons but fear of what next to eat, comfort of office, ignorance or the combination of all have impeded them to know that having an Apollo leadership will hurt us and take Kwara another 8 years backwards.

Tobi Matthew tweets at @tobbiematthew

• Otoge administration is delivering good governance, says Senate President
• Hails AbdulRazaq's humility, priorities
• Senator Sadiq empowers constituents in big ways

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said his administration is prioritising policies, projects, and programmes designed to make citizens self-reliant and more prosperous.

"Our policies, projects, and programmes are designed to make our people self-reliant. In our opinion, that is the surest path to breaking the cycle of poverty and making our people more prosperous," AbdulRazaq said on Saturday at the mega constituency empowerment programme organised by Senator Umar Sadiq of Kwara North.
 
"This involves gradually moving many of our people from the age-long culture of dependency to sustainable practice of self-reliance through skills acquisition, support for small businesses, empowerment, and inclusion.

"This mega empowerment by Senator Umar Sadiq is a good example. Rather than throw crumbs at people, we prefer building the necessary social and physical infrastructure, train people in life skills, and give them startup funds or equipments."

AbdulRazaq commended Senator Sadiq for choosing the noble path. 
 
"I also commend all our lawmakers at all levels who have been doing similar things. This goes a long way to strengthen what we do as an administration. We welcome more of it," he added.

Senate President Dr Ahmed Lawan said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is working hard to fix infrastructural challenges and urged all Nigerians to continue to support the government.

Lawan also called on the people of Kwara State to continue to support Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to consolidate on his remarkable achievements in the last two years, saying that his administration has delivered on key components of governance in a way and style not seen over the past decade in the state.

He acknowledged the humility and maturity of the Governor in handling of state matters, commending his leadership of the state and its people.

"I call on the people of Kwara State, no one should deceive or confuse you. I urge you to re-elect His Excellency Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for second term. He is already performing so well within just over two years. When those people talk to you again tell them they were here for 16 years and you couldn't see so much in terms of things that benefit the ordinary person. What our colleagues in the National Assembly are doing is to complement your efforts in Kwara State," the senate president said.

"Your Excellency the APC administration in Kwara State is barely two and half years. We know how far we have gone in just two and half years."

The senate president particularly praised AbdulRazaq for working closely with the three senators from Kwara to perform their legislative functions with comfort and bring dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

"All the three senators from Kwara State have been working with us in the senate. You have sent a great team to the senate. What we are witnessing today is giving account of stewardship in the last two years. Your Excellency, Senator Sadiq Umar is the chairman of our committee on Rules and Business. For him as a first-timer to be the chairman of Rules and Business is because he has exhibited commitment, hardwork and team work. The chairman of Rules and Business is the gate between every senator and his Bills. So, it's a huge responsibility. It shows the quality of senators from Kwara State," according to him.

"Your Excellency, they wouldn't have been able to do what they are today without you....You have given them the kind of support they need as members of National Assembly. I thank you for working with our distinguished senators, for supporting them to shine in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The organiser and senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District, Sadiq Umar, explained that the programme was to give back to the people of his constituency who gave him the mandate to serve them.

He added that the programme complements the efforts of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in addressing the needs of people of North who he said have long been neglected over the years.

"I have deliberately focused on programmes that will have direct impacts on the lives of the people in the areas of education, road, water, health, agriculture as well other infrastructure and human capital development generally," he said.

He assured Governor AbdulRazaq of the people of Kwara North's continous support for the administration.

The lawmaker advised beneficiaries of his mega empowerment programme to make judicious use of the items for optimal benefits to them and their communities.

The programme, which was well-attended by dignitaries such as federal and state lawmakers, cabinet members, traditional rulers, and political bigwigs, was preceded by a courtesy visit of the Senate President to the Governor.

Accompanied by top government functionaries, the Governor meanwhile had earlier received Lawan and other senators at the Ilorin International Airport.

Inauguration: KPMO congratulates Prince Sunday Fagbemi

~ Dedicates long awaiting victory to loyal party member
~ Encourages harmonious relationship amongst the excos

The Kwara Progressive Media Organization (KPMO) has congratulated the newly-sworn in Kwara State APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi during an inauguration ceremony conducted by Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) today at the National Secretariat, Abuja.

In a statement released by the Focal Person of KPMO, Usman Yunusa Lade and made available to journalists in the state, Usman states that “KPMO would like to specifically congratulate the newly sworn-in Kwara APC chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi as he officially assumes his role as the new chief pilot of the party affairs in Kwara State State. We believe that being a core progressive coupled with his wealth of experience in political party administration will be put to use positively in the interest of our great party, the government, and importantly the loyal party members in the State.”

*The smooth inauguration of the State Party Chairmen across the country further signifies the unity and peaceful coexistence of the party structure at all levels of the federation and its readiness towards the scheduled National Convention slated for Saturday, February 26, 2022.

"We dedicate today's long-awaited victory to our loyal party members whose belief and trust in the leadership of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led administration can never be underestimated,” Usman stated.

The statement also congratulated the entire Kwara APC executives in the state while urging them to work harmoniously for the success of the party in the state.

Lastly, Usman urges all the leaders, critical stakeholders, teeming members, and supporters in the state to continue to work together in a unified mission to uphold the inclusive and people-oriented leadership of the Governor for the benefit of all Kwarans at home and in the diaspora.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) Ward Chairmen Forum, Kwara State under the leadership of Mallam Abdullahi Baba Gobir heartily felicitates with Prince Sunday Adeniran Fagbemi on his inauguration as the State Chairman of APC in Kwara State, today 3rd February, 2022.

The APC Ward Chairmen forum and all well meaning Members of our great party, APC are previleged to have you at the helm of the Party's leadership in Kwara at this critical moment. Your wealth of experience as a seasoned Elder Statesman, Leader and Administrator would no doubt lead the Party to greater heights ahead of the 2023 general elections where the APC is confident to win overwhelmingly with you leading in front.

We as APC Ward Chairmen across all 193 wards in Kwara also wish to use this opportunity to reiterate our unwavering support for the APC and His Excellency Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq at all levels and ask our followers to keep faith with the APC as the party remains the only veritable platform upon which Kwara's property and that of her people is guaranteed.

From All of Us at APC Ward Chairmen Forum, Kwara State,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq switched on the Kwara Television 24-hour transmission on Tuesday, a giant step that the Governor said takes the medium an inch closer to the administration’s vision of making it a leader in the audiovisual industry and viable means of informing the public.

The development represents another first in the history of the broadcast station which was established over two decades ago. The switch, which makes Kwara Tv available on StarTimes Channel 113 and Free TV Channel 502, is one of the early steps towards making it available on DSTV.

The Governor turned on the 24-hour transmission switch at exactly 4:06pm (WAT), calling it another milestone that would be built upon with massive deployment of modern technology, local contents, and rich Human Resources available in the state.

“Today, history is again being made as we are not only breathing life back to Kwara TV but we are also graduating it to 24-hour broadcast. Kwara TV is one of the legacies of the founding fathers of this state. Like many of such institutions, Kwara TV gradually decayed. Like Radio Kwara did. Today we are proud to have Radio Kwara leading the pack in the state with 24-hour broadcast,” AbdulRazaq said.

“This afternoon , we are putting Kwara TV back on a sound footing. As we relaunch Kwara TV today, I assure you of our commitment to see it at the top with the right investments and support.

“The people in opposition have been attacking us on social media. That's where they are. They are not on the ground but social media. They talk about the last election being a fluke. How can it be a fluke when none of the media houses was working in 2019? Radio Kwara was off air. Herald was not printing and Kwara TV was like that. How can a reasonable government going to elections without its media arm? It is just a fallacy.

“My first visit was to Radio Kwara and we made sure that the right things were done. Workers were being owed salaries. We cleared all that. We invested in digital studios. Radio Kwara is now live 24hrs. Not only that, we will soon launch a radio station in Okuta (Baruten local government). Hitherto, our people were going to Republic of Benin to place adverts – political, health care and others - to cover Baruten local government area. In few months from now, that will be a thing of the past. I am glad and surprised to see what I am seeing here today at Kwara TV. I am really impressed.”

The launch was attended by top government functionaries, including Chairman of House of Assembly Committee on Media Hon. Olumide Awolola; House of Assembly member Tayo Felix Awodiji; Commissioner for Communications Hon. Bode Towoju; Special Adviser on Strategy Sa’adu Salau; and former Commissioner for Information Raheem Adedoyin.

Drab and barely available even locally, Kwara Tv went off air last September for reforms and relaunch after years of poor showings and skeletal services. The Kwara Tv had its golden years in the 1990s when it was the darling of the Kwara people and neighbouring states.

Awolola, for his part, commended AbdulRazaq for his investment which brought back Kwara TV to bridge information gap.

"Your Excellency, you have written your name in gold with what you are doing today. When we came on board you cannot say this is Kwara TV. What we met on ground was rubbish," he said.

Towoju said the development was an “unprecedented feat in the history of Kwara State and the Governor has once again shown his readiness to reposition the public-owned media houses in the state….Worthy of note is the fact that this administration has also obtained broadcast licences for two new radio stations, Kakakin FM in Ilorin and Nootia FM in Okuta, Baruten local government area of the state. This will further help in projecting the activities of the government and aid us in getting closer to our people in Kwara North”.

General Manager of the Tv Olatunde Michael said the launch was the first of the three phases of bringing Kwara Tv back to public reckoning, adding that they now plan to go national in the second phase and then international via the DSTV in the third.

He commended the Governor for his support.

“What we have just done is phase one. We have three phases for this rebound process. The step one is to get back on air and run a 24-hour service and make history. Phase two for us is to get to the national Startimes. In the meantime we are at the regional level which is the northern part Startimes. We broadcast in Kwara State and its environs. Conversations have kicked off on how we can be on the national platform of Startimes. The third phase is to be on DSTV. The whole idea is to get closer to the people. A lot of our viewers are on Startimes likewise DSTV and we want to reach everybody. That's the plan,” he said.

The Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA), has launched a house to house inspection in a bid to curb open defecation, which is one of the major factors responsible for the spread of diseases.

The inspection commenced at Sango axis in Ilorin where Environmental Health Officers and some members of staff of the Agency, thoroughly inspected houses to ascertain the provision of toilet facilities in the buildings.

In the course of inspection, about Twenty (20) houses in the area covered were issued with abatement notices for lack of toilet facilities while those with soak away system that have not been evacuated; and another one referred to as a source of water contaminant also received abatement notices.

Earlier, in a live radio programme, the General Manager of the Agency, Alhaji Sa'ad Ayuba Dan-Musa had disclosed that the Agency will be starting from Sango due to complaints received from well meaning Kwarans which presents the area as one of the dirtiest areas in the State.

The Head of department, Waste Management, Mrs Olawumi Taiwo Adedotun, said that Environmentalists known as "wole-wole" were highly feared in times past as people see them as enforcer of cleanliness.

She advised the Environmental Officers to be committed, dedicated as well as discharge their duties effectively for successful enforcement of environmental cleanliness and sanity.

Alhaji Sa'ad Ayuba Dan-Musa informed shop Owners in Sango metropolis that the Agency will provide waste bags for them at a token and Waste Contractors would be assigned to pick them up weekly.

He encouraged the shop Owners to always maintain a clean environment because 'health is wealth' and a clean environment has the potential to attract customers to their shops.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Friday signed the 2022 budget, with the capital expenditure now pegged at 56%, indicating a commitment to complete many of the ongoing infrastructural projects.

The size of the budget is N189,617,487,624 -- 44% of it being for recurrent expenditure. The House passed the budget on Thursday.

The proposal from the executive had pegged the CAPEX at 55.3% of the total package while the recurrent stood at 44.7%.

Speaking shortly after signing the budget, the Governor said the budget also captured workers’ promotion and the consequential adjustment component of the national minimum wage — the payment of which begins this month amid applause from various labour unions.

"Some of the highlights of the budget included the implementation of the consequential adjustment of minimum wage and paying some salary arrears that could not be paid by the previous administration. We are equally doing cash backing of promotions. Those are some of the major challenges for the administration,” he said, in what underscored his passion for workers’ welfare.

“We will also focus on completing ongoing infrastructural projects, job creation and expanding the economic base of the state. We will try to ensure full implementation of the budget as much as revenue permits.

“I must commend the House for doing the needful to ensure that the budget is passed on time. We appreciate the work you have done.”

Some of the dignitaries at the budget signing are House of Assembly Speaker Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu;
Deputy Speaker Hon. Raphael Adetiba; Leader of the House Hon. Mogaji Olawoyin; Chairman House Committee on Finance and Appropriation Hon. Ibrahim Ambali; Commissioners for Finance and Planning and Economic Development Florence Olasumbo Oyeyemi and Remilekun Banigbe; Special Adviser on Strategy Saadu Salau; and Clerk of the House Halimat Jummai Kperogi.

Danladi-Salihu, who commended the administration for its commitment to development, reaffirmed the determination of the House towards effective lawmaking in the state.

He added: “The budget was presented on the 22nd of December, 2021 and the Assembly began work immediately. We invited ministries, departments and agencies for budget defence. We scrutinised and passed the budget yesterday (Thursday).

“The budget is truly a budget of sustainable development and economic growth. The capital votes favour projects that will touch the lives of the people and reforms that would attend to decayed infrastructure. With these projects, our state will move to the next level infrastructural wise.

“The two previous budgets passed by this assembly show the prudency, integrity and transparency of this administration. It is our belief that the prudency and transparency that played out in the previous ones will play out with this too.

“Most of the projects cut across the three senatorial districts while the recurrent also aptly caters for the people’s welfare.”

He commended his colleagues for their hard work and commitment to the success of the administration.

Kwara SUBEB begins release of promotion letters to staff.

Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board has concluded an arrangement to start issuing letters of promotion to its deserving teaching and non-teaching staff (2017 and 2018 categories) in the state, a statement has said.

The Board Chairman Professor Raheem Shehu Adaramaja disclosed this on Tuesday, in a statement by the Press Secretary of the agency, Aminat Abiola Atere.

The Board had in August conducted promotion exams and oral interviews for the deserving workers, who are accumulated from 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, following the approval of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

The statement quoted Adaramaja as saying that the SUBEB's workers who fall within the year 2019 and 2020 promotion and had successfully partaken in the last promotion exercise would get their own letters as soon as possible.

It further said that the gesture forms part of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's package to motivate higher productivity of the workforce.

"The government is taking every step within available resources to encourage the best performance of students in public schools, which is partly achievable when their teachers are well taken care of," Adaramaja said.

He also appealed to all and sundry to continue to support the government in its bid to heighten the standard of education in basic classes, adding that the ongoing construction of over 600 schools across the state is part of the restoration mission of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Affected officers are expected to receive their letters from Education Secretaries in their respective local governments, according to the statement.

The Chairman therefore directed the Education Secretaries across the 16 LGEAs to forward to the Board copies of the compiled details of another set of workers in preparation for the 2021 promotion exercise.

In addition, all teaching and non teaching staff of SUBEB from GL.7 and above will also benefit from the consequential adjustment approved by His Excellency Mallam Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq effective from January, 2022 salary.

Coalition of Health Sector Unions has commended Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for approving the implementation of the 2019 adjudged CONHESS, calling him a Peoples’ Governor who prioritises the welfare of the people, including workers.

In a letter of commendation to the Governor, the unions said they are impressed with “your swift and untiring efforts for the release of circular for the implementation of the 2019 adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS) for all categories of health workers in the state”.

“The Unions also appreciate you sincerely on your efforts in building good health facilities, promotion of our teeming members, payment of salaries as and when due, coupled with your administrative sagacity, we say kudos to you, and crown you as people’s Governor,” according to the letter jointly signed by COHESU State Chairman Comrade Murtala Saheed Olayinka and State Secretary Comrade Markus Luka.

The unions also appealed to the government to give clearer directive on the issue of Primary Healthcare Under One Roof (PHCOUR) which they said would deepen efficient service delivery in the health sector.

The appreciation comes few days after the UITH chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors applauded the Governor for his unprecedented achievements in the health sector, including the commencement of the residency training in the state-owned general hospital.

Kwara State Ease of Doing Business Council has lauded the impressive contribution of the Kwara State Chapter of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) to the recent rice pyramid project of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

According to an official document by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kwara is one of the leading subnationals that contributed massively to the return of the rice pyramid in Nigeria.

The state was said to have produced 62,332 metric tons of rice paddy during the dry season and 40,000 metric tons during the wet season, making a total of 102,332 metric tons.

Describing this as huge, the Council, in a statement issued by its Secretariat, commended State Coordinator of RIFAN, Dr. Ahmed Saba and his team for rewriting the narrative, especially as the state was hitherto not considered a rice producing state.

“Kwara State Ease of Doing Business Council commends the daring and impressive efforts of Kwara RIFAN under the leadership of Dr. Ahmed Saba. This is clearly a watershed in the history of the state. Until the coming of Governor AbdulRazaq, Kwara State was not considered a rice producing state. This development therefore confirms the huge investments the current administration has put into agriculture and other sectors of the economy. We especially note the acknowledgement of Dr. Saba that the state government provided the enabling environment for the Association. The state government will continue to provide enabling environment for all businesses to thrive. We urge RIFAN not to relent as the Council will ensure that they get necessary support from the government and continue to partner with them.”

Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has called for more support for members of the Armed Forces and sister security agencies whose efforts the Governor said keep the country united and its people safe.
 
Speaking to reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, shortly after inspecting the guard of honour and laying the wreath in honour of fallen soldiers, the Governor urged members of the public to support families of fallen soldiers in every way possible as well as offer actionable intelligence to those still in active service.
 
Their sacrifice to keep the country safe and united cannot be overemphasised, the Governor said at the ceremony commemorating the 2022 (National) Armed Forces Remembrance Day. 
 
“The patriotic roles being played by the gallant officers in the Service in curtailing insurgency and other security threats cannot be quantified. We salute all of them, including those of them who had lost their lives in the course of serving the nation,” according to the Governor.
 
He was joined at the solemn wreath-laying ceremony by Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi; Speaker Kwara State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu-Danladi, who was represented by Hon. Gafar Ayilara of the Ilorin North-West Constituency; Commanders and heads of various military formations and security agencies; and Chairman of the Nigeria Legion of Ex-service Men. 
 
The Governor urged Nigerians to replicate the sacrifices of members of the Armed Forces to keep peace with more gratitude and necessary support, saying security is everyone's business.
 
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for progressively scaling up the welfare of the security forces, saying his administration would also continue to support the agencies in its own ways.
 
"Partnering with the security agencies is an ongoing exercise. Security belongs to everyone. Not just the agencies. We make their task easier if we support them as a people. They need actionable intelligence from the public for them to be able to protect us. In other words, all of us should be part of the security architecture," AbdulRazaq added.
 
"Today, as always, we honour them, we remember their service and we will continue to do that." 
 
The Governor also lauded the traditional rulers in the state for their support for security agencies and the government to maintain law and order. 
 
This support accounts for why Kwara is a very peaceful state in Nigeria, AbdulRazaq added.
 
The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is commemorated every January 15 in honour of Nigeria’s serving and fallen soldiers, with emphasis often placed on national security and unity and support for the families of security operatives who died during service.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday made a working visit to communities in Ifelodun and Isin local government areas, reassuring them of his administration’s commitment to infrastructural and human capital development in the hinterlands. 
 
The Governor made his first stop at Oke Onigbin and Owu Isin towns where he inspected its moribund water works and some ongoing projects in the area. 
 
Led by Isin TIC Chairman Tunde Fadipe and the Onigbin of Oke Onigbin Oba Salahudeen Kamaldeen, the Governor promised to look into the challenges of the water works which served Iji-Isin, Isanlu Isin, Pamo Isin, Iwo Isin, Sabaja and Owu Isin in the Isin Local Government Area. 
 
The monarch said the area last got public water over a decade ago.
 
The Governor then toured the Ile-Ire District In Ifelodun local government, beginning from Owode Ofaro where the administration is constructing a bridge connecting the district to Oke Aba town in Isin local government area.
 
AbdulRazaq’s convoy then touched down Owode, Afin, Ikosin, Idera, Alabe, and the two Oreke communities — an impromptu tour the elated locals said was the first of such by any incumbent Governor since the beginning of this Republic.
 
He also visited the location of the expansive marble deposits in Oreke, saying the tour offered him an opportunity to interact with the people directly and get feedbacks on government’s activities and programmes, as well as know their other immediate needs.
 
"It's mid-term for us. I came to find out on my own the state of infrastructure, education, water, and human capital development in this axis of our state. We are talking and visiting the people to get feedback. Our budget is still in the state house of assembly, some of these feedbacks will be pushed to make sure that the budget is approved in a manner that benefits the people, especially because we are still engaging our lawmakers,” he said, accompanied by the TIC Chairman for Ifelodun Hon. Jide Ashonibare..
 
"Road construction and infrastructure is an ongoing process. It's very expensive. We have allocated billions in this 2022 budget to this sector. We have heard the request of our people and we will see what we can do to gradually address these challenges.”
 
The monarchs took turns to commend the Governor for his unique visits to the area and for the construction of the Awere and Imu bridges that connect the communities, as well the recent recruitment of teachers and construction of school facilities in the area.
 
They seek the construction of the road which connects the district to ease transportation of farm produce, boost the local economy and development of the area. 
 
Some of the monarchs that hosted the Governor on the impromptu visit included the Olu of Owode Ofaro Oba Raheem Ayilara; Onidera of Idera Oba James Oladipo Buraimoh (African Tiger); and Afetu of Alabe Oba Bamidele Aderounmu.

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq today acknowledged the sacrifices of the Nigerian Armed Forces in maintaining peace and security as well as stabilizing the country.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq stated this today at the Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service organized to commemorate the Armed Forces Remembrance Day and Emblem Appeal week at All Saint African Church Gaakanbi, Ilorin.

Represented by his Deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, Governor AbdulRazaq further stated that security forces have demonstrated unparalleled patriotism, courage, loyalty and commitment as they face the challenges involved in defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

‘Permit me to say that this administration also acknowledges and commend the unrelenting efforts of the Nigeria Legion of Ex-servicemen at caring and providing for its members consistently in mobilizing funds annually to aid their incapacitated colleagues and families’ he said.

He added ‘we assure you of the state government support to your noble cause, as we are aware that with necessary encouragement, the legion can always be relied upon to complement the efforts of our security agencies in providing necessary security that is needed for conducive environment for rapid development in our state’.

Delivering the sermon titled ‘Fighting the good Fight’ Rt. Revd. Ade Fagbayi called for all hands to be on deck in achieving an enviable Country in the comity of nations, urging for collaboration and greater synergy between politicians, Military and the Judiciary.

The vice chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Kwara state Chapter, Bishop Sunday Adewole in his address noted that the Armed Forces Remembrance Day brings to the fore the efforts and sacrifices of officers, some of whom paid the ultimate price in the course of serving the nation.

Special prayers were offered for Nigeria, the church of God, the Armed Forces and families of the fallen heroes.

The Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) is observed every January 15 to honour fallen heroes of the Nigerian Armed Forces in various wars and national assignments.