The Chairman of the Committee, Justice Idris Haroon (Rtd), gave the assurance in Ilorin on Friday during the inaugural meeting of the committee.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had nominated 10 prominent Muslim scholars, community leaders and government officials to investigate the circumstances around the recent excessive flogging of some Arabic students in Ganmo area of the state.

The committee is chaired by retired Justice Idris Haroon.

Other members are Hon. Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu; Special Assistant to the Governor on Religion (Islam) Alhaji Ibrahim Dan Maigoro; Prof. Hamzat Abdulraheem; Prof Badmus Yusuf; Prof. Ali Agan; Dr. Mohammed Ghali Alaya; Dr. Saudat AbdulBaqi; Hajia Balikis Oladimeji of the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN); Mallam Lawal Olohungbebe; and Dr AbdulHameed Sanni (Secretary).

Justice Haroon noted that the fact that people protested the development showed that the said corporal punishment was distasteful, abnormal and unacceptable to the society and Islam itself.

“A school of whatever system of education is a small world or community for moulding the younger generations for future leadership and usefulness to their immediate and larger communities of man. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to inculcate in them such qualities and etiquettes which are bases of life in order to develop their potentials and talents,” he said.

“Reward and discipline are of great significance to achieve these objectives. It must be emphasised that both reward and discipline have laid down mechanisms through which they are attained. If the reward could be earned through examination results, prizes and scholarships, then the aspect of discipline must not just be restricted to beating, caning or inflicting punishments that can cause injuries. Punishment must be cautiously carried out to avoid a situation where it thwarts the efforts of building a child. Thus, punishment must be constructive and not destructive.”

Justice Haroon assured that the committee would come up with recommendations on reward and discipline methods that would prevent such occurrence in the state.

“The committee will, in shaa Allahu, diligently discharge onerous task placed before it to the best of our ability and wisdom with transparency and fear of Allah to justify the confidence reposed in us by the Executive Governor of our dear state of harmony and to come up with acceptable reward and discipline methods that will prevent such occurrence in the state,” he added.

In her remark, Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, said she had earlier held meetings with proprietors of Arabic and Islamic Schools to deepen their engagements with the government.

She expressed hope that the committee, working with all stakeholders, would come up with a good structure for Arabic and Islamic Schools and prevent future occurrence of such incident.

The post Arabic school beating: Kwara committee assures parties of fairness appeared first on Frontpageng.

Long-gone development partners are back in the state — thanks to huge counterpart funds paid by the administration as well as its political commitment to bettering the state’s human capital indices. What about the running cost now restored to breathe life to the MDAs? The icing on the cake are several anti-poverty measures and pro-business interventions of the administration from which dozens of thousands of residents have benefited. Last year, the administration built and equipped an isolation centre — the first in the 54-year-old state. It is constructing a 12-bed intensive care unit (ICU) at the premier Ilorin General Hospital, the largest in the entire north central. The Lafiagi General Hospital is undergoing a massive renovation and remodeling that would also give birth to a well-equipped accident and emergency section, a modern laboratory, a theatre within the maternity ward, cubicles housing a scan section, and a VIP ward. Each ward of the hospital now has its own convenience.

Many people have commended the Governor for his strides within such a short period. And the prudence with which he achieved all that without incurring any debt or owing salaries.

A visual arts centre and an innovation hub — both of them products of futuristic thinking — are being built, while various sports facilities such as a 10-arm squash court are underway at the Kwara State Stadium Complex. That will possibly be the biggest squash complex in Nigeria. Hold your breath: from being off air in 2019, the Radio Kwara now transmits 24 hours, the first time since it was established. And, eureka, the construction of a government FM radio is underway in Baruten, ending years of the Kwara north relying on radio stations in Benin Republic or Oyo State. Many people have commended the Governor for his strides within such a short period. And the prudence with which he achieved all that without incurring any debt or owing salaries.

But there is a lot more to be done. A lot more. Kwara requires huge investments in strategic infrastructure and revenue-generating vocations to widen the economic base of the state without resorting to undue taxation of the citizenry. For this reason, following a cabinet approval for same on December 24, 2020, the Governor has secured an approval from the parliament to raise N35bn bond from the capital market to fund new and existing infrastructural development and various economic projects that will drive growth and create jobs for the people. The step is no moot point, given the plummeting revenue from federal allocations and internally generated revenue, mounting government’s obligations to the people, as well as the imperative to put the state on a sound footing. The bond has a tenor of eight years and is tied to an irrevocable standing payment order on federal allocation. Haunted by dwindling revenue, no fewer than nine state governments have in the past one year or so raised bonds of varying amounts to fund projects. These include Oyo (N100bn); Kogi (N3bn; it had earlier raised N20bn in 2014); Edo (N25bn); Lagos (N100bn); Ondo (N50bn); Kano (N50bn); Ogun (N250bn); Plateau (N30bn); and Katsina (N55bn).

Some N13bn of Kwara bond sums would go into funding 37 (ongoing and new) roads of varying sizes across the three senatorial districts. That includes but is not limited to the ongoing 33km Ilesha Baruba road and the prized Iwo-Sabaja-Owa-Onire-Owu road which empties into the phenomenal Owu Fall. These would open up the state, shorten travel time, ease the business climate, attract tourists and investors, and widen revenue base.

The agricultural sector will gulp the second biggest investment at N7bn. The government plans to establish ‘virtual farms’ spanning thousands of hectares of land, supported with processing and packaging factories. The focus, according to the plan, is on cashew, soya bean, shea, and cocoa processing. Why are ‘virtual farms’ so called? Here is why: the government would fund the founding of large farms, complete with modern ICT gadgets, security system, insurance, and appropriate land titles. However, anyone anywhere in the world could own and trade with them after acquiring same from the government. So, you could be living in Australia and own a farm that you can monitor online and trade with in Kwara State. This will lead to significant job opportunities, create a long value chain, and boost economic activities and revenue generation across the state.

A cumulative sum of N15bn will be spent on the education, health, entertainment, and creative sectors.

In education, the administration will increase human traffic and increased economic growth in other parts of the state by completing the Ilesha Baruba and Osi campuses of the Kwara State University. That will attract feeder businesses and investments to those axes of the state to serve thousands of students and workers who would be matriculated or be engaged in those campuses. A part of the money will also go into basic education, and to strengthen the Aviation College (which until this administration came had just five students. The tally is now over 70 enrollees, even though more funds need to go into buying simulators and putting in place other facilities to seal new partnerships with critical stakeholders). The Colleges of Education in Oro, Lafiagi, and Ilorin will get a share of the funds — same for the Kwara State Polytechnic.

The hospital management board is appalled at the horrible situation of most of the state’s 48 secondary health facilities. Massive rehabilitation and equipment of some major general hospitals in the state with modern gadgets will be covered. Dozens of primary health care facilities will be upgraded and equipped – in addition to those already undergoing similar facelifts. The upgrade will include electronic medical record system for the state, significantly boosting the quality of healthcare delivery in the state. Kwara holds the trophy as the state with the highest prevalent of open defecation. A massive anti-open defecation campaign, or Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), worth N500m would be funded with the bond to complement some existing initiatives that recently won Kwara State a pledge of 1000 pour-flush toilets from the private sector stakeholders.

The new bond is positioned to provide the building blocks of a new Kwara to trigger massive youth employment across all sectors whilst providing good public services, and an enabling environment for meaningful engagement and livelihood for all.

A film factory will be built in the capital city Ilorin. A race to tap into the multimillion-dollar entertainment industry, the facility will offer production and post-production services for Nollywood and other West African movie industries. Primed to rival Lagos and Accra, the two major hubs for postproduction in the African sub region, the film factory will have capacities for sound stages, render farms, animation, green rooms, production rooms, visual editing, master dubbing, sound overlay, editing and subtitles. The facility would be attached to relevant department of the Kwara State University. Some funds will also go into completing the ongoing visual arts centre, with a space for gold-standard antiquities sourced from across the state, workshop studios for artists to practice, a space for exhibition of contemporary art, art shops, and a café. This will boost the creative industry, promote tourism, create job opportunities, and increase revenue generation in the state.

Positioned just next to the expansive Kwara Hotel, the state’s Innovation Hub — an initiative targeted at young people — is already underway. It is being built by the government but would be co-run by private sector operators who would have the common goal of growing modern technology among the youths in Kwara State. The hub will create 100 direct jobs and 600 indirect employments from auxiliary services and logistics, while 20,000 youths are to be trained in software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, graphic design, social media and digital marketing annually. An estimated 5,000 ICT jobs are to be secured per year. The hub, which is to serve as a start-up incubator for ICT micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state, will be completed and equipped under the bond.

The establishment of a fully-integrated Kwara Garment Village and an industrial park is estimated to gulp N5bn. The expansive facility will be equipped with fully automated equipment and uninterrupted power supply, generating at least 3,000 direct jobs, affordable quality wears, technology transfer, and revving up revenues. All things being equal, the facility is planned to come with backward integration that would lead to large-scale cotton cultivation involving 2,000 farmers. The industrial park, for its part, will lead to improved infrastructure for development of free trade zone, agro-processing facilities, reduced transactional cost, and better the living condition for the people.

These projects, added to various service costs and taxes, are what the administration plans to fund with the N35bn bond amid compliance with various regulations. These are intended to build on the impactful strides of the government.

Standing shoulder high in prudent management of resources and a spartan lifestyle, the Governor has paid more attention to the previously underserved communities while redirecting funds to jumpstart the economy through basic amenities. There is no doubt from anywhere about him deploying the bond to the best advantage of the state – safe from the usual suspects who had left Kwara in ruins and piled up debts, including unpaid salaries and abandoned projects, including those for which a N17bn bond was secured in 2009.

The new bond is positioned to provide the building blocks of a new Kwara to trigger massive youth employment across all sectors whilst providing good public services, and an enabling environment for meaningful engagement and livelihood for all.

• Rafiu Ajakaye is Chief Press Secretary to Kwara State Governor

The post N35bn bond: Doubling down on Kwara development, By Rafiu Ajakaye appeared first on Frontpageng.

The awards came after the state satisfied the disbursements linked indicators, DLIs, as contained in the Annual Performance Assessment, APA, final report submitted by the independent verification agents, IVA, that had earlier visited Kwara State.

The DLIs include improved financial reporting and budget reliability; increased citizens engagement in budget process; strengthened internally generated revenues, IGR; biometric and BVN used to reduce payroll fraud; strengthened public debt management; improved debt sustainability; implementation of a tax compliance for individual taxpayers and businesses; strengthened procurement function for COVID-19 or emergency situation and facilitated participation of SMEs in public procurement resilient recovery phase; and publication and approval of amended COVID-19 response budget.

“The import of the foregoing is that the state is eligible to the total sum of $16,900,000 representing performance-based grant for 2019 APA, with an earlier disbursement of $5m in November,” according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Of the balance of $11.9m, the state has received additional $9.4m on Monday January 4, and awaits the balance of $2.5m later in the month, the statement added.

The government meanwhile has explained why it jerked up the budget estimates from N123bn to roughly N135bn, representing an increment of about N11bn.

The breakdown, according to the statement, included a review of the opening balance from N13.6bn to N19bn based on funds mopped up from across the MDAs; VAT from N14.6bn to N15.4bn; PAYE from N5.6bn to N5.8bn; administrative charges from N194.6m to N346.6m; Land Use charge from N124.8m to N174.8m; SFTAS capital receipt from N3.8bn to N6.1bn; and termed loan from N4bn to N6bn.

The statement also announced the receipt of N795,327, 222:21 as the third tranche of the 25% refund of unremitted PAYE from federal government’s MDAs domiciled in the state.

The post Kwara wins $16.9m in SFTAS achievements for 2019/2020 appeared first on Frontpageng.

“His Excellency the governor felicitates with the Hon. Minister, a political communicator par excellence, a distinguished Kwaran, and an APC stalwart on his 69th birthday. The governor commends the contributions of Alhaji Lai Mohammed to national development, his deft  handling of public issues, and his salutary role as a respected political figure from the state,” the governor said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye.

“The governor prays the Almighty Allah to grant Alhaji Lai Mohammed good health and more rewarding years ahead in the service of our fatherland,” Ajakaye added.

The post Lai Mohammed at 69: Statesman with sterling credentials –Abdulrazaq appeared first on Frontpageng.

Commissioner for Finance and Planning, Olasumbo Oyeyemi Florence, said at a public dissemination meeting on the revised 2020 budget on Friday that the review largely accommodated public observations as expressed in previous engagements with the citizens on the budget.

The meeting was attended by senior government officials and civil servants, community-based organisations, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, associations of traders, women and youths.

Florence said the meeting had been called to keep the public abreast of latest development regarding the financial document.

The commissioner said the present administration was trying its best to make the budget process more participatory and give citizens a say in all stages of the process, with a view to enhancing transparency, accountability, and good governance in the state.

“The purpose of today’s meeting is to clearly explain the key changes between the original 2020 budget and the recently passed 2020 revised budget at the State House of Assembly and assented to by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. You will recall that some stakeholders participated in the 2020 revised budget preparation process and the need to feed you back on the final approval becomes imperative,” she said.

“You are all aware that budgets are tools for transforming development plan into implementable programmes and projects. If well implemented they will translate the intention of the government into concrete and verifiable reality.

“The preparation of the revised 2020 budget was informed by the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in sharp fall of oil price and production in the international market with the attendant drop in revenue for the country. The prevailing situation has reduced FAAC oil revenue causing reduction in the expected statutory revenue allocation to the state.”

Oyeyemi added that copy of the revised 2020 budget had been published online.

She also announced that another round of citizens’ engagement interactive meeting on the 2021 budget had been scheduled to hold across the three senatorial districts of the state from Tuesday September 1, 2020, beginning with Kwara Central (Ilorin).

Designed to harvest public views on budget preparation and contents, the engagement will also be held in Kwara North on Thursday, September 3, and in Kwara South on Monday, September 7, under COVID-19 protocols.

She explained that the ministry was committed to monitoring the budget in a bid to ensure that it was implemented to full capacity and optimisation.

Prominent among the issues raised by the participants bordered on proper budget monitoring and how the government can devote more votes for agriculture, especially its value chain.

AbdulRahman Ayuba, convener of CSOs Coalition and head of Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication, CEPE, urged the government to devote more budgetary votes for agric value chain.

Reverend Ibitoye Idowu, who represented the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, spoke on the need for the ministry to intensify efforts on monitoring of budget implementation.

Mallam Amuda Musbau, the director of personnel management from Moro local government area, commended the government on its commitment to transparency and accountability.

The post Kwara: Why we reviewed 2020 budget -Govt appeared first on Frontpageng.

The administration, given the prudent orientation of its head, has definitely stabilised, considering the economic and COVID-19 turbulence of the past few months. This is particularly true when one considers the low turnover of appointees so far. Coming from diverse professional careers and various socio-economic backgrounds, the appointees are weathering the storm. Much as everyone  desires a good life, the ethos of this Administration is service first. Given the Kwara journey, many expected the appointees to own new houses and fleet of expensive cars by now. But so frugal is the administration that the only set of vehicles the government has procured thus far are those used for service delivery to the people especially in the civil service. No appointee has received government funds to purchase personal cars. None has got public funds to procure houses. In the years past, appointees got as high as N16m each of public funds to buy themselves good cars. How do you demand for such a luxury under an administration headed by a man who drives a car he bought with his own money? While it is not a crime or abnormal for government to make its appointees comfortable, the thinking of the Governor is that the people have for too long been deprived of things as basic as water. He thinks they deserve a better deal this time in fulfillment of his promise to them, thus rewarding their choice of a new political direction.

Faced with the prospect of ‘our people’ saying they risk coming out of government poorer and without status cars in their garage, it will not be unusual to see some appointees taking a walk.

But the truth is that this was not the norm in Kwara. Surrounded and constantly derided by some persons, probably even some in the family, whose expectations and perception of public office were shaped by the old order where sudden wealth was the hallmark of public office and where public appointees paid the exorbitant tuition of their children in foreign schools or lavishly funded the wedding of their children and so on, it is natural for some persons to feel deflated following a man whose conception of Otoge is for things to be done differently.

Faced with the prospect of ‘our people’ saying they risk coming out of government poorer and without status cars in their garage, it will not be unusual to see some appointees taking a walk. The noise of ‘enugbe’ in the political and social circles of Kwara sums up this thinking.  Enugbe does not mean that the government is not performing. Everyone agrees the Governor is doing excellently well, particularly at the level of infrastructural development and promptly providing basic amenities of life to the underserved segment of the society. Even the opposition grudgingly agrees that he is making unprecedented socio-economic impacts in the state – regardless of their occasional tantrums. That is expected.

The emerging system would not be near perfect but it would be closer to that ideal public service we all desire: one where public officials truly serve the people.

Whatever the shock, pain or grumbling that is happening to and in the new administration is perfectly normal. That is akin to the pangs of childbirth, the birth of a new Kwara. The new order may seem a tad stormy at the beginning as the people and various actors gradually adjust to the new normal. It happens everywhere a change has just occurred. Those insinuating a lack of direction miss the point. There is nothing in the economic outlook of the state that suggests a lack of direction. Kwara has just posted one of the lowest unemployment figures. It recently recorded Nigeria’s lowest inflation rate. That did not just happen. It happened because the administration worked for it. The state has had one of the finest showings in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its social spendings in time of economic downturn were one of the best in Nigeria today, with locally sourced palliatives shared to the underprivileged, hundreds of thousands of face masks produced for the people and by local artisans. Add all of those to its prompt payment of salaries even when civil servants have been asked to work from home to limit human contacts and flatten the curve of the pandemic, provision of financial support to thousands of people hard hit by the lockdown, waivers on tax payment, and a strategic decision not to totally shut down industrial production. When the country initially went into full-scale lockdown, Kwara exempted the agriculture sub-sector and a few others. That kept the economy moving even if at reduced capacity.

At the end of the day the pace and punch of the Administration will regrettably come with casualties as this race to birth a new Kwara is for the strong and the inspired; not for the weak nor the meek. We cannot all resign to our fate or circumstances; we must take the fate of Kwara in our hands to bring positive change. The expectations of public servants and political appointees in the new Kwara can no longer be self-aggrandizement; they would have to align with the Otoge philosophy of a man who carries his own bag, often personally drives his own car, and lives under his own roof. The emerging system would not be near perfect but it would be closer to that ideal public service we all desire: one where public officials truly serve the people.

*Ajakaye is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

—

The post It isn’t going to be all partying under Otoge, By Rafiu Ajakaye appeared first on Frontpageng.

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, the apex umbrella body for Muslims in the country, has declared Friday August 21st the first day of Muharram 1442 AH — a commemoration of the official migration of Prophet Muhammad and the nascent Muslim community from Makkah to Madinah.

“The Governor felicitates with the entire Muslim ummah on the dawn of another Hijrah Year. The Hijra calls for thanksgiving and sober reflection. The Hijrah represents and teaches many things to the world: a certainty that ease always comes after every hardship, a need for patience in time of hardship, and a religious obligation for every believer to always strive to be a better version of themselves,” according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye.

“As we commemorate another Hijrah Year amid a pandemic, it is important for everyone to bear in mind that this hardship would not last forever. Humanity will win. However, everybody is urged to be patient and cooperative with the governments on various measures put in place to flatten the curve of transmission. The Governor prays Allah to bring ease to our world, heal those who are down with the virus, and comfort every family that has lost their loved ones to the disease.”

The post Kwara: Governor Abdulrazaq greets Muslims on new Hijrah Year 1442 appeared first on Frontpageng.

The governor, who was received by the Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Abubakar Sadique, apologized to the Air Force authorities over how its previous relationship with the Aviation College went sour.

Until recently, the Nigerian Air Force was training some of its officers at the Aviation College Ilorin.

However, the agreement was terminated a few years ago following alleged mishandling of funds meant for training on the part of the state.

The Air Force switched the training of its officers to South Africa following the sour relationship with the IAC.

“His Excellency was at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force on Tuesday for preliminary re-engagement meeting,” according to a statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Rafiu Ajakaye.

“The Governor expressed his full commitment to a new beginning and sought a new partnership built on mutual trust.

“There was a sufficient show of goodwill on both sides. The two sides are to put together a team to discuss a new partnership on training of fixed wing and rotor pilots in Kwara State, among other things.”

The deal may also see the Nigerian Air Force deploying its engineers to Ilorin as part of the partnership.

The post Aviation college: AbdulRazaq discusses new partnership with Air Force appeared first on Frontpageng.

Kwara is a peculiar terrain. The past 12 months have been very eventful. Going by available resources, no fair-minded person will rate the AbdulRazaq administration below 70 percent in critical and impactful interventions across sectors: education, public health, youths and sports, agriculture, water, and road — all of which have got huge investments (as I attempted to chronicle in my ‘AbdulRazaq and 365 days of impactful governance in Kwara’). The icing on the cake is its light-speed response to public yearnings.

But equally significant as the giant, people-centric strides of the administration are what scholars of government call the intangibles. The intangibles cannot be quantified but they can make or break any society. The intangibles, particularly in terms of power relations, are what shape the character and worldview of a people over time. For many years, people lived in awe of anyone at the Ahmadu Bello Way. Escorted by dozens of vehicles and fear-inducing security agents, officials arrived public events in grand, commando styles that portrayed them as superiors to the next person. They lived grandiose lifestyles in spite of meagre resources, poor public infrastructure, and abysmal living standard of the people. Over time, this public show of unwarranted opulence and raw power became the norm in Kwara.

Lack of transparency is a laughable charge against a government that constantly invites nonpartisans to monitor its activities.

AbdulRazaq has not been perfect these past 12 months. But the difference has been clear. He has gradually succeeded in changing people’s perception of the office of Governor — that the occupier is just another human being elected to hold power in trust for the masses and could be questioned on the streets on matters of public affairs. He routinely stops on the street to interact with citizens and take selfie with them, if they so wish. He carries his own bag. He carries his own files. He is embarrassed having a crowd stand for him. Most of the time he arrives events right on time while the hosts are still preparing. If he ever arrives late to an event for any reason, he walks in quietly without being noticed. This was an anomaly in our clime. Leaders sauntered into events many hours behind time, their security aides bullying their way into the hall. The consequences had been a disorderly society where many people lost every sense of decorum and the lowest of public officials behaved in like manners to show naked power. The effects trickled down to the society as anyone with the slightest link to the Ahmadu Bello Way held courts in their own cocoon. AbdulRazaq is changing this in Kwara, although it has been tough getting people to adjust!

At his inauguration in May, people waited for instant dismissal of the top echelon of the civil service who worked with the last administration. People expected him to instantly sack over 2,000 sunset teachers who had recently been engaged by the former administration. Partisans expected immediate, arbitrary dissolution of elected local government executive and legislative committees. People wanted former officials haunted down, disgraced and chased out of town. People simply wanted many things done like before. The irony of such expectations was that these are arbitrary actions that made Kwarans loath and reject the former administration and everything it represented. So, why did they want same done under a ‘change’ administration? It is because two in every three persons in the state had been used to such arbitrary behaviour. Such behaviour, vengeful and bad as it is, was the norm. People had become accustomed to abnormal conduct. And this exemplifies the extent of the damage the dethroned political tendency had done to the psyche of the people. That AbdulRazaq refused to toe that path was another major intangible that would reverberate in the future if he succeeds in consolidating the new political culture in Kwara. People are now getting used to a new thinking.

For the first time, gender parity (inclusion) in cabinet composition is hugely pronounced in Kwara — far more than anywhere in Africa — with 56.25 of his commissioners being female.

Some people have suggested that the Governor is ‘soft’. That is because many clearly wanted him to brazenly haunt down certain persons on assumption of office or violently repress those who disagree with him politically — a throwback to the years Kwarans rejected. Such views were possibly borne out of pent-up anger from the persecution and humiliation many people suffered in the past. He has been calm even in the face of wanton abuse of the social media space and libellous and hateful comments, resisting the temptation to bare needless fangs as was the case before now.

While a few persons have sought to cast the administration as not transparent, the opposite is true. Lack of transparency is a laughable charge against a government that constantly invites nonpartisans to monitor its activities. For the first time in many years, the Governor has revived the Price Intelligence Unit to guarantee value for public funds. That is hardly the quality of somebody wanting to mismanage taxpayers’ money.

The state government shared palliatives worth over N500m naira as COVID-19 pandemic kept people at home. It was the Governor’s idea that whatever that was being distributed in the name of the state should go to the vulnerable (Kwarans). Echoed by his Deputy Mr. Kayode Alabi, it was his idea that the palliatives be devoid of partisanship because he had sworn to serve every Kwaran, and not just members of his own political family. Subtle protests from certain quarters were acknowledged but the Governor insisted that everyone must benefit equitably. This was not the Kwara we all knew!

As this administration hits one year mark, one of the greatest legacies has been the zeal with which the Governor completed projects inherited from the previous administrations.  For him, these projects were conceived and kickstarted with taxpayers’ money and letting them to ruin is the worst betrayal of public trust. This was never the practice before. Many uncompleted projects from decades before still litter the state, many of them abandoned purely on account of political differences with the initiators.

For the first time, gender parity (inclusion) in cabinet composition is hugely pronounced in Kwara — far more than anywhere in Africa — with 56.25 of his commissioners being female. That is a licence for the long-repressed girl child to reach for the stars. In Kwara today, people need no political affiliation to benefit from whatever their state can offer. You doubt that? Ask the students who benefited from scholarships and bursary. Ask the transporters who benefitted from the ongoing palliatives. And ask the oldies who are being randomly enrolled into the state’s safety net programme purely on the basis of need and of meeting the nonpartisan criteria. Nobody asked anyone for their political card membership or affiliations. This is not the Kwara we knew.

The governor has done very well in the area of critical infrastructure, especially those targeting the poor. Kwara now has better equipped hospitals. Schools are being repositioned. Water is running in many parts of the state. Many communities are being linked with good roads and to the national grid. The elderly are being saved from destitution. And Kwara is moving up in many indices of development. But I wager that bookmakers would score him a lot higher in his efforts to evolve a new Kwara driven by values, empathy, and good character. These intangibles would germinate a new political culture that is critical to sustainable development.

*Rafiu Ajakaye is the CPS to the Governor of Kwara State.

The post Kwara, AbdulRazaq and things less talked about, By Rafiu Ajakaye appeared first on Frontpageng.

This is as the governor felicitated with the Muslim community in the state over the completion of the Ramadan fast, praying God to reward and grant the supplications of the faithful.

“We congratulate our Muslim brethren on the successful completion of Ramadan fasting, and pray the Almighty Allah to accept it as an act of worship, forgive our excesses, grant all our supplications during and after the holy month, and gift us long life and good health to observe several Ramadan in the best state of faith in God,” the governor said on Saturday in a statement by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye.

“Ramadan was a time of complete and sincere submission to the will of God. It served to purify our souls and train us to be discipline, selfless, and conscious of our creator. We beseech Kwarans and indeed Nigerians to internalise the takeaways and let them guide our daily existence for the sake of humanity.

“As the fast ends today, we repeat that the 2020 Ramadan came at an extraordinary time of human existence during which we are to temper certain rights and privileges to preserve the human race against the ravaging deadly Corona Virus (COVID-19). To that extent, there shall be no large gathering for congregational Eid prayer or other large social gatherings in Kwara State this year. For emphasis, all religious places remain shut until further notice. All malls and related places are to prevent such conditions or interactions that can spread the virus. All of these are in line with the COVID-19 safety protocols which have been designed solely to flatten the curve of transmission and protect the people.”

The post AbdulRazaq greets muslims at Eid, says ban on large gatherings stays appeared first on Frontpageng.