Kwara Governor Says State’s Devt Indices Have Changed for Good

No part of Kwara State is without appreciable positive imprints of the Otoge administration, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said.

According to him, significant progress has been made across sectors between 2019 and now.

A statement quoted the governor to have said his investments in healthcare, education, rural-urban development, water facilities, and workers’ welfare were so significant that emerging data had shown a wide gap between what he met and the situation today.

He said the administration has achieved a lot by working with development partners who had earlier left the state for lack of support, adding that the government now works with the SightSavers International to strengthen eye care services in the state.

Asserting that no electoral ward in the state was without positive traces of his administration, the governor said project commissioning was hardly a measure of development or performance.

He listed many of the administration’s completed projects in road, water, health, and education across the state, adding: “Beyond these, we have many ongoing projects that have been designed towards boosting the economic base of the state.

“We have visual arts centre, film factory, garment factory, innovation hub, and of course the international conference centre. There are other major projects too which we will complete this year, such as the Ilesha Gwanara Road, the Tunde Idiagbon Bridge, Adeta-Yebumot Road, Osi-Obbo Road, and the largest squash court in the country which is eight-winged, among many others.”

Asked to speak about the disagreement within the former Otoge allies, AbdulRazaq said it had nothing do with government’s performance or service delivery to the largest majority of the people but essentially about issues of political ambitions and interests which he said are legitimate in a democracy.

“Whether in water, rural development, basic education or healthcare, or workers’ welfare, we have clearly delivered on our mandate and we continue to do more,” he added.

The governor also spoke on the future of the capital city Ilorin, which he said has been taken care of with the Ilorin City Master Plan — the second of its kind since Kwara became a state in 1967.

“Most of the growths we have now are unplanned and that is why you have flooding, poor ventilation and lack of green space, among others.

“The first and only plan of the city were done between 1967 and 1970s. It expired many decades ago without replacement. We have come up with a new one; we are also in the process of designing for Offa-Oyun axis, Igbomina, Patigi/Edu and Baruten axis of the state,” the Governor said.