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Tag: Kwara State

  • Ahmed to Kwara PDP: Stop misleading public

    Ahmed to Kwara PDP: Stop misleading public

    The Kwara state government has cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to stop misleading the public about government’s programmes and policies.

    In a statement, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on media and communications, Dr Muyideen Akorede condemned as misleading a claim by the state publicity secretary of the PDP, Mr. Rex Olawoye, that the state has taken up to five bonds in the last five years.

    The state government said the previous administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki obtained N17b bond in 2009 to fund major infrastructure projects in the state which was paid off in August 2013.

    The state government wondered where the PDP got the figures of N23b and N30b bonds referred to in the said interview and advised the opposition party to seek clarification instead of misleading the public with phantom figures.

    Dr. Akorede said the proposed N20b, when approved, will be utilised for reviving ongoing projects on road, education, health, energy, water and sports as well as new ones that were stalled following the drop in FAAC allocation to the state from N3.2b monthly to N1.8b monthly.

    Stressing that the temporary reliance of the state government on federal government bailout funds for the payment of salaries was not peculiar to the state, the statement said many others, including those controlled by the opposition PDP, had received bailout for salary payment. Nevertheless, the statement continued, government emphasised that Kwara State was one of those with the lowest levels of salary arrears.

    Government also emphasised that the proposed N20b bond was a strong indication that the state economy was robust as no bank will lend money without demonstration of proven capacity to repay.

  • Rainstorm renders over 60 homeless in Kwara

    Rainstorm renders over 60 homeless in Kwara

    Rainstorm which lasted several hours on Friday night had rendered over 60 families homeless and damaged property worth millions of naira in llorin East and Asa Local Government Areas of Kwara.

    The Special Adviser to Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed on Emergency and Relief Services, Alhaji Abdullahi Duro-Mohammed, disclosed this in llorin on Saturday shortly after inspecting the affected areas in the two councils.

    He said 43 residents including aged and pregnant women were affected in the llorin East Local Government Area while the remaining victims were from Asa Local Government Area.

    The affected communities in the llorin East include Adangba, Okelele and Kankatu, while communities affected in Asa Local Government Areas are Passa and Orogbangba.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victims in the two Local Government Areas are now refugees in Mosques, public schools in the areas and neighbours not affected by the rainstorm.

    The Special Adviser told NAN after the visit to the affected communities to sympathise with the victims that the state government would provide immediate succour to alleviate their sufferings.

    Duro-Mohammed said the visit was at the instance of the State Governor, who had promised to provide succour for the victims.

    Speaking on behalf of those affected, the former Chairman of Moro Local Government, Alhaji Shuiab Baba-Jimoh commended the prompt response of the state government to the plight of the victims.

    He appealed to the state government for urgent intervention to end the sufferings of the victims.

    A cross section of the victims that spoke with NAN appealed to the state government to quickly come to their assistance.

  • Saraki closes defence at tribunal

    Saraki closes defence at tribunal

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has closed his defence at the Kwara state Legislative Houses Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

    Kwara central Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq (petitioner) in the March 28th Presidential/National Assembly elections is challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Bukola Saraki at tribunal.

    Counsel to Saraki, Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN) on Monday closed his defence without calling for any witness, but his APC counterpart, Abdulwahab Bamidele requested for short adjournment to enable him call forth their witnesses.

    Petitioner’s counsel, Francis Obumse also closed his case, giving way to respondents’ counsels for defence.

    Four witnesses called by the petitioner all testified before the tribunal during the five days allotted for PDP candidate to prove his case.

    The tribunal admitted two additional exhibits; the exhibits include stubs/counterfeits of used ballot papers in respect of senatorial election in Kwara Central and the Issued but unused ballot papers in the election were marked as Exhibits P5 and P6.

    Justice Josiah Majebi-led three-man tribunal, however, adjourned the petition till today (Wednesday) for continuation of defence.

    Saraki had at the previous sitting opposed the tendering of electoral documents, arguing that the documents were not listed or referred to in any of the deposition of the witness.

  • Kwara community decries water scarcity

    Residents of Okuta in the Baruten local government area of Kwara have decried the perennial water shortage in the border community.

    A cross-section of the people who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) urged governments at all levels to urgently alleviate their plight of lack of adequate potable water supply in the community.

    Malam Aliyu Umar, the Gunubero of Okuta, lamented that the waterworks in the community had not been operated in the last three years, to supply it with pipe-borne water.

    This, according to the traditional ruler, is due to its network of pipes, which have gone bad.

    “Our major problem here is the distribution network, which has gone bad. The pipes have become broken in the last three years and nothing has been done about restoring the network.

    “There is need for new pipes to be laid and for the distribution network to be extended to other areas that were not covered in the past, because of the rapid growth of the town”, he said.

    Malam Umar further said that the present sources of water in the community were through wells, hand pumps and one motorised borehole, which according to him were not adequate for the town’s population.

    “We are seriously facing the problem of perennial water shortage. It has started now and if you come here by January, you will pity our situation,” he stressed.

    The Gunubero explained that shortage of water was peculiar to Okuta than other neighbouring communities in the local government area.

    He appealed for urgent assistance from government and bemoaned how a dam project by the Federal Government through the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, which was sited in the community, was later diverted to another community, a few years ago.

    Also speaking on the issue, Mrs. Hassanat Abubakar, a housewife, explained how women in the border area suffered to get water for domestic use, once the dry season sets in.

    She pleaded with government to assist in the provision of adequate water supply to the area, to ease the difficulties faced by women and children in sourcing for water.

    An official of the Kwara Water Works Scheme in the town, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the unit was compelled to stop work as a result of poor power supply about three years ago.

    He further observed that the situation had now been compounded with the rusty distribution pipe network, as well as the need to expand the network, following the growing population of the town.

    The source, however, declined to provide estimates required to restore full operations at the facility.

    Okuta, with an estimated population of over 100, 000 persons, is the largest town in the Baruten local government area of Kwara.

  • Ahmed: Thorny path to second term

    Ahmed: Thorny path to second term

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has been endorsed by some groups and associations for a second term. Although the endorsment is a boost to his ambition, he must still overcome some hurdles to get the ticket. EMMANUEL OLADESU reports.  

    Foralmost three and half years, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has ruled without stirring any controversy. Also, no politician has come between him and his political leader, Senator Bukola Saraki. Unlike other states, where crises  between predecessors and their successors have reached the peack, there is amity between the former governor and Ahmed. However, as the succession battle gathers momentum, there are insinuations that it may be difficult for the governor to secure a second term ticket.

    In Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC), there is no consensus yet on succession. While a section believes that Ahmed’s political future hangs in the balance, stakeholders who support his push for second term point out that he has performed. However, those against his ambition allude to political expediency, claiming that, since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is likely to pick its flag bearer from Kwara Central Senatorial District, the ruling party should not be indifferent to its implications for next year’s elections. This latter group are rooting for another aspirant, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, former Sports Minister.

    Kwara Central has the highest number of voters. Therefore, it is the target of the PDP. But, the zone cannot solely instal the governor. Therefore, the opposition party is also mobilising support in the  South, where the governor comes from, and the North, to pull the rug of the feet of the APC.

    However, the APC has an edge over the PDP. The ruling party is popular across the three districts. Thus, it is able to overcome the regression to ethnic division by the PDP. Unlike the PDP, which lacks an arrowhead, the APC is forging ahead under the leadership of Saraki, ably supported by his lieutenanat, Ahmed.

    Besides, recent develoments in the state have altered the odds against the governor’s second term aspiration. Many stakeholders are endorsing his bid. Last week, Ahmed was endorsed by the Emir of Lafiagi, Alhaji Kawu Haliru. , who lent his voice to the barrage of endorsements coming for the governor from the district.

    The crowd of supporters at Lafiagi was huge. They were led by political office holders from Moro, Edu, Patigi, Kaiama and Baruten councils, which constitute the North District.  Also present were community leaders, representatives of professional groups, youths, women, artisans and peasants. Speakers showered encomiums on the governor for his developmental strides. They said that Ahmed has empowered  the people through his numerous projects and programmes.    Urging the APC to field him in next year’s poll, they maintained that the governor has lived up to expectation.

    There has been a gale of endorsements for Ahmed. But, his  endorsement by Emir Haliru seems to have become the game changer, if the monarch had actually spoken the minds of his people. The royal father is highly respected. Since he has endorsed the governor, there has not been any contrary view in the North. Also,  the North, like the Central, has the advantage of a bloc vote. Although there are some aspirants from the zone in the opposition vying for the governorship, they are papper weight actors.

    The South is solidly behind the governor. In fact, his kinsmen have embarked on an aggressive mobilisation for his ambition. During the voter’s registration, they trooped out for the exercise. Now, the calculation is that the combined forces of Saraki in the Central and Ahmed’s foot soldiers in the South should be able to forge a working alliance with compatriots in the North to ensure the push for continuity next year.

    But, according to the PDP, this agenda may not work.  The party believes that the endorsement does not translate into electoral victory, adding that the royal father who has endorsed Ahmed lacked the mandate of the voting public.

    Kwara PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary Mr. Femi Yusuf doubted the validity of the endorsement, saying that it is unrelieable.  He said the next election will be a battle of supremacy between the APC and the PDP. Faulting the endorsements, he said that it was instigated by the government.

    “Let me tell you the candid view of our party on the endorsement. We see it as a mere figment of the imagination of the APC. It does not provide the party with any leverage when the election comes.

    “That aside, the traditional ruler is a civil servant, who collects salary from the state government monthly. So, what do you expect? When they are endorsing him for a second term, what would warrant the endorsement? What have they done for the area  for them to say he should continue in office?

    “You can only deserve endorsement, if you have surpassed the previous administrations. But, the past 12 years have shown that the people of the North District have been neglected. Go to Baruten or Kayama, Lafiagi and Patigi to see for yourself.”

    However, the Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed on Communication Strategy, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, disagreed with the PDP spokesman. He said: “The governor, through his ‘Shared Prosperity Agenda’, has sustained the impactful developmental momentum of his predecessor and he actually deserves the support of well-meaning people to continue his people-oriented projects.

    “He has successfully consolidated on the projects of the former governor and opened up new ones, which have direct bearing on the people and that simply explains why the people are clamouring for continuity.”

    The former Commissioner for Information listed some of the projects. They include the Independent Power Project (IPP) to drive industrialisation, the rehabilitation of schools, and the construction and rehabilitation of 800 kilometers of roads. The administration also set up the Harmony Holdings and the Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme (KWABES). It has completed the construction of the Aviation College, which was established by the Saraki Administration, and the Vocational Centre, Ajase-Ipo.

    Adedoyin said the governor has reduced fees paid by students in the state-owned institutions and provided N100 million micro-credit facility to empower the people. He said five General Hospitals have been rehabilitated and 13 ambulances and drugs provided to hospitals.

    But, can the governor overome the hurdles? Can he suppress the agitations for power shift to the Central District? If he gets the APC ticket, can he defeat the PDP challenger from the Central? Time will tell.

  • GOVERNOR AHMED: Equip Kwara State Library

    GOVERNOR AHMED: Equip Kwara State Library

    This is to appeal to Governor Ahmed Abdulfatai of Kwara State to equip the state library in Ilorin.

    The library lacks many important books and other facilities which are supposed to be in a modern library.

    I believe the governor will swing into action on this matter because he is a hard-working governor who does not toy with issues concerning education. I am expecting to see a well-equipped library soon in the state capital.

     

    Sulyman Abdul-Akeem,

  • PDP owns Kwara, Jonathan insists

    PDP owns Kwara, Jonathan insists

    *Vows to reclaim the state in 2015

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday insisted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) owns Kwara State and will win the governorship election in 2015.

    Stressing that all stolen mandates in the state will be reclaimed, he said that the PDP will test its might in the state by winning any elective positions in the state between now and 2015 general election.

    He spoke in Abuja when Hajiya Bola Shagaya led members of the Kwara PDP to the Presidential Villa to thank him for his role in the PDP rally held in Ilorin.

    Jonathan said: “We remain very grateful and from what we saw that day, I do not think we need a soothsayer to say that Kwara is totally for the PDP.”

    “Just like the Principal Secretary said, the task of the pudding is in the eating. In 2015, we will know who owns Kwara. And if God gives us the opportunity, which I believe, probably we will even test our strength before 2015. All stolen mandates will return to PDP. And those who think that they can run away with our mandates, as a member of the Assembly who refused to defect, you will have nothing to regret. Just celebrate it.”

    “If they think that PDP will allow them to run away with it, they will see it. So let us continue to encourage you and we will continue to work together with your leaders, supporters and make sure that just like the Senator said, not only will we win the election at the national level, we will also win at the state levels.”

    Continuing, he said: “We must take over the state structures of the party, the Governor and the state Assembly, we must take all, because  it is easy to reach the grass root through the states than the center because the country is so big that by the time we distribute positions, you will not be noticed. But at the state level, we can touch more people.

    “So any state we are unable to win, members of the party in that state will continue to live like orphans. So definitely, we are taking over Kwara. So I am quite pleased with what you have done today,” he added

    He went on: “Let me join the organizing Secretary and Vice President to really thank you for finding time to come and interface with us. I welcome you to the state house and appreciate the efforts you took on the Ilorin and other parts of Kwara.”

    “Let me also join others to express our deepest appreciation for the reception you gave to us when we came for the rally. The rally in Kwara was even thicker than some zonal rallies.”

    “It was even a day because the government had wanted to distract the attention of the citizens. They arranged some Programme even within the Ilorin and those programmes failed. These things do not happen by chance because men and women who are here worked very hard to get to that level so extend our appreciation to those our brothers and sisters and formidable member of our party who are not here. You spent your personal money in mobilizing our people to get there that day,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of the group, an elder of the party in the state, Laziz Jimoh promised that the state will back Jonathan for 2015 Presidential election.

    He told the President that without a sitting PDP governor in the state, they will remain like orphans.

    Among the delegations include Senator Simeon Ajibola, Gbemi Saraki, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Suleiman Ajadi, Special Adviser to the President on Ethics, Sarah Jibrin.

  • N10m tools, gifts for Kwara constituents

    N10m tools, gifts for Kwara constituents

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Ilorin East/South Federal constituency in Kwara State, Dr. Ali Ahmad has spent N10 million on youth empowerment and Ramadan gifts to his constituent members and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.

    All the 23 wards in the constituency benefited from the gesture in Ilorin, the state capital. Items distributed as Ramadan gifts included bags of rice, sugar, milk, among others.

    Speaking at the event, Dr Ahmad who chairs the House Committee on Justice, added that he had empowered 120 youths in his constituency to engage in mechanised farming.

    He said that each beneficiary of the scheme, which is in partnership with some commercial farmers, could make as much as N3m annually if they are serious about it.

    He said the gesture was to assist the less privileged during the holy month of Ramadan, adding that the empowerment programme would contribute in reducing youth unemployment.

    The lawmaker implored the beneficiaries to embrace the Ramadan fast and pray fervently for Nigeria to overcome its numerous challenges.

    Two indigenes from Ilorin South and East Local Governments who were sponsored by Ahmad to learn shoe-making were presented with the working tools to effectively put the knowledge to practice to earn a living.

    Said he:” We implore our people to embrace Ramadan as it has approached and to involve in fervent prayers for all the ills bedevilling our nation in current times.

    “We have two empowerment programmes for the youth. We are doing it in phases, this one is for the youths. We have empowered 120 youths in a job that would fetch them between N1million and N3million a year. It is a mechanised commercial farming project in association with some commercial farmers. We have perfected the plan.

    “With the 120, there would be other additional phases for others. Basically it is about commercial farming and we are trying to encourage our youths to engage in farming because this is the employer of labour. We are just leveraging on it and we thank God that it has culminated in the employment of 120 youths.”

    As for artisans, the legislator added that “for those who are artisans, you are seeing what we have done in the past six months.

    “We engage them as a trial, as a model and it has succeeded. So, we have empowered these youths, we have given them all the implements they need to go to the market and I am sure you can see the enthusiasm of other youths. So, we would enrol more youths in this and other artisan work that can benefit them.

    “The advice I have for them is that they have been carefully chosen; they have been enamoured. So, it is for them to now go to the field and you can see the quality of works they do and these shoes are very cheap.

    “It is for them to go further and conquered the world so that they would now be an example for other upcoming youths. And through all these composite programmes, we can keep on to address the unemployment problem that we have.”

    At the event were PDP Chairmen in the two local governments, party leaders, supporters, women and youths who also got their share of the Ramadan package.

    A PDP chieftain in the constituency, Alhaji Oba Bolanta, in his remarks, commended the lawmaker and urged other wealthy Nigerians to always remember the less privileged who live from hand to mouth.

  • Fed Govt to build 550 housing units in flood-prone states

    The Federal Government is to build 550 housing units in the 22 states ravaged by flood last year, the Kwara State Chairman, Committee on Flood, Relief and Rehabilitation, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, has said.

    He listed some of the benefiting states to include Kwara, Kogi, Delta, Bayelsa and Niger, where the impact of last year’s flooding was devastating.

    Mohammed, who is the Kwara State Head of Service, said the government has adopted measures to mitigate flooding this year. The state, he said, had appealed to hydro stations management to regulate the release of water from dams to avoid flooding, adding that the water could be released gradually when the dam was not filled up.

    He said: “We spoke with management of hydro stations in Jebba, New Bussa and Shiroro. We advised them that what they could do to help our people is to regulate the way they release their water. They should not wait until the dams are 100 per cent full.

    “We also went to the traditional rulers and chairmen of the councils to identify ten relocations areas in their respective councils for the people. Having done that, we held meeting with the Presidential committee on flood last week and they told us that the federal government is coming to assist the people. It was at the meeting that we learnt that 25 housing units would be constructed in each of the 22 affected states.

    He said the committee had identified areas such as Patigi, Moro, Kaiama, Baruteen and Ilorin as flood prone areas, adding that 60 sites have been designated as where people living in flood prone areas can relocate to. The sites are scattered across six local government areas of the state that were affected by last year’s devastating flood.

    The local government areas are Pategi, Edu, Kaiama, Baruten, Moro and Ilorin. Each of them has 10 relocation centres.

    The Special Assistant, Emergency and Relief Services to the Governor, Musa Abdullahi said the government had cleared virgin land with tents and mobile toilets and provided about N5million anti-flood epidemic drugs as a proactive measure against the impending flood and the associated health demands.

    He said Governor Abdullahi Ahmed had provided N10million for the construction of the tents and N7million for the mobile toilets. He urged people living in flood prone areas to relocate to safe areas and be more safety conscious.

  • 28,000 acquire skills in Kwara

    28,000 acquire skills in Kwara

    About 28,000 youths have graduated from an entrepreneurship scheme set up by Kwara State.

    The Abdulfatah Ahmed administration introduced the scheme aiming to reduce the alarming rate of unemployment particularly among the youth in the state.

    The state government has also voted N100m for small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), the state Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperative, Alhaji Raji Mohammed has said.

    Mohammed spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, at the presentation of entrepreneurship certificates to no fewer than 150 fresh graduates of the jobs scheme.

    The commissioner said the youths were trained in financial management, opportunity identification and customer relations under the entrepreneurship programme of the state University, (KWASU) Malete for four weeks.

    He said the state had also released a sum of N45 million soft loans to the beneficiaries for them to be self-employed.

    He said the youth empowerment scheme was part of a strategy designed to reduce poverty and create wealth among people in the state.

    He added that the 150 youths were later clustered into three registered cooperative societies to give them access to bank loans.

    Alhaji Raji, who said that government cannot absorb all its graduate youths into the civil service, added that the entrepreneurial training has equipped the trainees to become job creators rather than job seekers.

    Also speaking, Director, Entrepreneurship Centre, KWASU, Dr. Muritala Awodun, said the Centre would monitor the youth for 12 months in their various ventures in order to see to their growth and development.

    Dr. Awodun said the five-semester entrepreneurial training was collapsed into four weeks for the beneficiaries.

    “As a result of the training, the youths have been able to identify what business venture they want to pursue. They can also be able to stand on their own and nurture their businesses to maturity together with likely challenges they may face,” he said.

    He, therefore, advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the training and financial empowerment package and not to see it as a share of national cake but as set-up capital.

    Said he: “I urge the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity by improving on the empowerment. The 150 youths have been given the appropriate tutorship to stand on their own. We re-orientated them towards believing in job creation. We changed their mindsets from looking for somebody to employ them. The KWASU centre had decided to nurture them for the next 12 months.”