Category: Northern Report

Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq carried out extensive tour of rice plantations in communities in Edu and Patigi local government areas at the weekend to assess the impacts of seedlings, fertilisers, and other inputs they recently received from the state government. 

The Governor was represented on the tour by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Toyosi Thomas-Adebayo, who was accompanied by Director of Personnel Finance and Supply in the Ministry Mayaki Babadzuko Ma’adu.

The visit to Edu and Patigi will be followed by another ‘feedback mission’ to Kaiama and other parts of the state to inspect maize and soya beans farmlands, among others.

Last week, the Governor personally inspected the Kwara Youths Farm in Malete (Moro LG), where at least 1500 hectares of land are being cultivated for soyabeans production this farming season.

The government had recently launched the distribution of seedlings, fertilizers, and other farm inputs to support 10,000 farmers across the sixteen local governments. It is to ensure bumper harvest and promote food security, the Governor had said.

Speaking to reporters in Edu on Saturday, the Governor said: “Today, we are here for a monitoring exercise to meet (rice) farmers, who benefitted from the government’s interventions, and check their farms to make sure that what they have been given were put to use. That is the main purpose of the exercise.

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“One of the things we do as a government to improve food security is to improve productivity. One of the ways we do that is to give timely and quality inputs to our farmers.”

The rice farms visited were in Lafiagi Ward 1 and 2 of Edu; Lade, Sakpefu-lade, Sheshi and Rogun in Kpada Ward 2 of Patigi local government. 

At least 20,000 hectares of land are being cultivated for rice production in the areas covered, according to locals.

AbdulRazaq expressed satisfaction with the happenings on the farms and commended the farmers for their commitment to the food security drive of the government.

“I am very happy about what I have seen. Clearly, the farmers have put to use what they got. We have been able to motivate our farmers to do more. We also have a number of farmers waiting to get support from the government and they will get in due course,” he added. 

“We have carried out three interventions this year. We started with free input to 3,400 rice farmers and we did another one under the NG-CARES FADAMA for 600,000 farmers which included assets like boats for fishermen and the recently concluded intervention (Agro chemicals, fertilizers and seeds for 10,000 farmers). Even with all these, we still have more farmers seeking the support of the state government. So, we are going to support more farmers.”

Most of the farmers, who spoke with reporters, took turns to eulogise the Governor’s support to boost farming activities in Edu and Patigi local governments of the state, and solicited for more.

Bala Sa’adu from Lade Community said farmers under Dukulade Irrigation Scheme have benefitted immensely from the present administration, particularly with the regular provision of farm inputs and desilting of blocked canals, where they source water for their farms.

“About two years ago, when the entire canal was filled up with sand, we appealed to the Governor to help us desilt it. The government supported us with about N7million to rectify the problem. And everybody had a bumper harvest last year. The canal served us so well until recently that it was blocked again,” he said.

“The government has also provided us with fertilizers, chemicals, and rice seeds free of charge. We all know how much a bag of fertilizer costs now. So, all these interventions are very commendable because it will reduce the cost of production.”

Sa’adu requested the government to also assist in fixing their blocked canal.

Alhaji Muhammad, Secretary of Sakpefu community who praised the government for various support for rice farmers, appealed for an extension of their farmland to increase their yields.

Muhammadu Kudu Yakub, who spoke for rice farmers in Lafiagi, appreciated the government’s support which he said has assisted their farming activities a lot.

“We are predominantly farmers from the Lafiagi community. We are into crop production such as rice, maize, groundnuts, beans, potatoes, and cassava. We really thank the government for every support to strengthen our occupation. It has really assisted us. But it has not gone round. We need more support, especially pumping machines so that we can access adequate water to improve our production,” he said.

The Ministry had earlier visited other local government areas on the same mission, including Asa and Ilorin East.

Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is a star progressive Governor in Nigeria whose excellent performances in many key sectors are amazingly breathtaking, Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) Folorunsho Aluko said at the weekend.

Aluko, who led a five-person media team of the Forum on a two-day working visit to the State, said he could not believe that Kwara has achieved so much under AbdulRazaq, including in the areas of physical infrastructure and social support programme, civil service welfare, youth development, gender inclusion, agriculture and sports.

Aluko said they visited the State to inspect and document legacy projects of the administration, as they have also been doing to other APC-controlled states, noting it is easy to forget good legacies when they are not archived.

“I came to Kwara State with my team on a mission. On getting here, I am proud. The signature projects of His Excellency AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Governor of Kwara State, are breathtaking. From the social support programme, infrastructure, civil service welfare, youth, gender empowerment, business, innovation and technology, to sports, we are really impressed with what we saw,” he told reporters on Friday after concluding the facility tour in the capital city.

“In terms of sports specifically, we saw the squash court that has ten courts identifiable by different colours and that accommodate both the youth and old, even those with special needs. This is the first of its kind in Nigeria to have ten courts domiciled within the same arena.

“The table tennis arena is also outstanding. This is also one of the best you can find anywhere in Nigeria…. The massive renovation of the main bowl and the indoor sports hall is also very wonderful.

“We have also visited the garment factory, innovation hub, visuals arts centre, film factory, and others. On the whole, I would tell you that no one would have believed that Kwara State has been able to achieve these in the last five years.”

The delegation paid courtesy visits to Government House and some other offices, where they got briefings on some of the legacy projects of the administration, ahead of touring some of their locations on Friday for firsthand information. 

Some of the projects visited include the Garment factory; Ilorin International Conference Centre; Innovation Hub; under remodeling Kwara Hotel; 12-storey ultramodern Revenue House; Centre for Contemporary Arts and Films; Sugar film factory; the Squash Court which is located inside the State Stadium Complex; and Flower Garden; among others. 

They were variously received by the Special Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor Alhaji Sa’adu Salau; Special Adviser on Media, Bashir Adigun; Commissioner for Communication Bola Olukoju; Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology Damilola Yusuf-Adelodun; Commissioner for Works and Transport Engr. Abdulquawiy Olododo; Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Oloruntoyosi Thomas; and Executive Chairman, Kwara State Sports Commission Coach Bola Magaji; and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Rafiu Ajakaye.

Aluko said their visit also serves to checkmate negative reporting, which he noted undermines the positives in the country, especially in APC controlled states.

He said it was unfair that negatives are allowed to dominate the media space, thereby discrediting many outstanding public officers in the society.

He said they will continue to utilize their publications — the PGF Weekly Pulse, PGF Monthly e-bulletin, and the newly-launched Legacy Documentation and Preservation Initiative — as fundamental tools to achieve their objectives.

He commended AbdulRazaq on his 10-year Agriculture Transformation Plan that focuses on promoting food security through support for farmers and better approaches in addressing the farmers-herders conflict across agrarian communities.

“I would like to advise politicians to always be prepared and come into power with enough knowledge and experience like we have in the Governor of Kwara state. And I won’t tell you lies: Governor Abdulrazaq and other progressive governors are a blessing to Nigeria,” he said.

“Like I said, all the progressive governors are actually performing governors. But with our visit, we have seen again beyond what we imagine was happening. So, for Kwara State, we are convinced in terms of good governance and innovative and transformative leadership. The Governor of Kwara is qualified to be called a star progressive governor.”

Salau, for his part, thanked the media team for the visit and encouraged them to focus on producing their publications in at least three popular local languages for wider coverage. 

“The things people look for in government are good governance, justice, fairness, transparency and accountability, and on several occasions, the Governor has received awards on all these qualities that people look for all over the World,” he said.

Olukoju said most of the projects the administration embarked upon were popular choices of the youth whose affairs she noted occupy the heart of the Governor.

She said the government often interfaces with the people to harvest the views and needs of the populace before formulating policies to impact their lives.

“The Governor is really concerned about youth development in the state. And going by statistics, Kwara has a teeming youth population, and we decided on how we can engage them productively,” she said.

Adigun said the Governor is doing a lot to strengthen key infrastructure, which he noted had mostly collapsed in the past.

Olododo said not less than 170 roads have been constructed by the administration within just one year of its second term, adding that the Governor also facilitated the construction of at least 284 kilometers of federal road projects across the state.

Yusuf-Adelodun said the government is building the capacity of at least three thousand youths in textile production through the garment factory, with a view to boosting Nigeria’s textile industry. 

This training will allow different companies across the World to see Kwara as a destination for garment production, she said.

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Agric Commissioner Oloruntoyosi said the government is offering massive support for farmers and building the capacity of agric extension agents for knowledge transfer to increase farm yields.

“For us in Kwara, the 10-year Agric Transformation Plan has been an important document and a roadmap to achieve food security. Yes, we are blessed with land, but it is not just about crop production. It is about how we can improve our productivity in quantity and quality,” she said.

Coach Magaji said Kwara is taking a lead in many sporting events, especially in Squash Court game and table tennis, adding that the state has produced national champions in the under-10, under-13, and under-16 categories in the last four years.

This is due to the support the sports sector enjoys from the government, Magaji said.

He said the administration has renovated a lot of sporting facilities in the state stadium, including the Olympic-size swimming pool, outdoor basketball, outdoor volleyball, and squash court, with eight of them additionally built.

He said the indoor sports hall is also being fixed in a way not seen before since it was constructed in the 1970s.