The League of Kwara Youth Stakeholders on Wednesday called on the people of the state, especially the youth, to support the second term bid of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, given his outstanding performance in the last four years.
Convener of the group, Comrade Akoshile Mukhtar, made the call in Ilorin during the Press Conference to unveil the outcome of its independent assessment of the programmes, policies and projects of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in office.
He declared that the state has witnessed a significant change under the present administration, urging Kwarans to be wary of saboteurs that seek to rob them of their existing fortunes.
“We call on the youth to ensure that saboteurs are not given room to operate and try to rob us of the benefits of the unprecedented scale of people centric policies, programmes and projects that this state has witnessed in the last four years,” he said.
“Kwarans will recall that four years ago the young in the state of harmony took to the streets to reclaim our dear state from being a “family and friends” enterprise, showing the seemingly untouchables that power rests with the people. It was this people generated movement that gave birth to a brand new government led by our incumbent Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq”.
Comrade Mukhtar, who noted that the state was in a great mess when AbdulRazaq took over, said it took the Governor a “surgical precision” to unlock development and set the state back on the path of inclusive growth, adding this has gone a long way in alleviating poverty that has since been threatening the state.
He said the Governor has continued to prioritize the interest of young persons in his administration because of his conviction that they can deliver on many things, and in appreciation of the support he enjoyed from them at the 2019 elections.
“Governor AbdulRazaq inherited a herculean task as the state was in shambles, requiring surgical precision to make needed bold decisions in strategic areas to immediately unlock development in the state and set it back on the path of inclusivity and alleviate the raging fire of poverty threatening to engulf the state.
“It is on record that no other administration has done more to engage young people in the history of our dear state and indeed in Nigeria, with nearly 60% of Governor AbdulRazaq’s appointments, including commissioners, going to people under the age of 40. The Governor has prioritized competence and vigor over rewarding and strengthening vested interests against the overall good of the people.”
He said AbdulRazaq has invested so much in many key sectors to impact lives and ensure inclusive growth, such as the renovation/ remodeling of over 600 public schools and introduction of KwaraLEARN project; construction of hundreds of roads and the Flyover bridge at Tanke; construction of the International Conference Centre; Innovation Hub; Visual Art Centre and Garment Factory, among others.
His words: “The Governor has also shown himself to be for the downtrodden in society through establishment of Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP), which is the most extensive social investment programme in the history of Nigeria that is driven by innovative data collected over time.
“KWASSIP remains the only state social investment programme to have components targeted specifically at the elderly, unemployed, petty traders, and children who are fed in kindergarten. KWASSIP, which deployed globally accepted strategies of capacity building and direct cash transfer, has reached over 100 thousand individuals and business beneficiaries.
“As part of the overall policy drive of creating social safety nets for the good people of Kwara state, Governor Abdulrazaq has made healthcare a major plank of his governance, with the establishment of “KwaraCare”, which offers one of the most qualitative healthcare services at some of the lowest costs in Nigeria starting from as low as 6 thousand Naira per year or 5 hundred Naira per month. The administration has also embarked on renovation and restocking of Primary Health Centers across the 16 LG’s of the state”.
Mukhtar further said that the administration has focused on the construction of rural roads, which he noted, have assisted in boosting commercial activities of rural communities and rejigging the local economy, adding all these are enough grounds to give AbdulRazaq another mandate to serve.
“It is on this basis that we put our stamp of approval on the good works of our dear governor and call on all and sundry to support the programmes he has put in place for the development of our dear state, ” he concluded.
