O F PROGRESS # ISEYA 100 DAYS O F HOPE, PRUDENCE, AND RESTORATION IN KWARA by Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary 100 days may not provide a definitive“ assessment of performance. However, on the evidence of initiatives and interventions of Gov. AbdulRazaq, a new dawn has already broken for the long-suffering people of Kwara State. The pointers are that the building blocks of prosperity are being assembled to take the good people of Kwara State out of the morass of underdevelopment. It calls for commitment, sacrifice, belief, and patience on the part of all. Is Kwara now an Eldorado? No! But certainly a breath of fresh air. What no one can deny is that Kwara is no longer the stagnant state it was a few months ago. People can point“ at sincere efforts to build a state that works for everyone — whether rich or poor, young or old. Read full article on Page 15 Governor Abdulrazaq completes Abandoned Coca-Cola Bridge The construction of the Coca Cola bridge in Ilorin has been completed. The project had stalled since 2018 until July 2019 when Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq approved 10 million naira for the completion of the project. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 1 Oke Foma Bridge opens for public use Oke Foma bridge is now open for public use following a construction that begin there last month. The construction of the bridge was completed under the supervision of the Kwara state Ministry of Works on the order of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 2 Governor flags off Polio Outbreak Response Kwara state government has flagged off the polio outbreak response unit in 7 local governments in the state. The programme kicked off in Tanke, Ilorin East Local Government last month. This is in response to the outbreak of polio in some local governments in the state. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 3 Governor Abdulrazaq rehabilitates Kwara Fire Service Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has overseen the rehabilitation of the Kwara State Fire Service. He donated fire-fighting vehicles for the service as part of the rehabilitation efforts. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 4 Governor Donates Supplies to Kwara NYSC The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in Yikpata, Kwara state now wears a new look. The camp has also been equipped with benches, mattresses and medical supplies for the clinic. His Excellency, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, donated several materials aer his visit in July. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 5 Igbaja, Lafiaji Water Works get new look The Kwara state Water Works unit in Igbaja has a new look courtesy of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. He also sanctioned the installation of machines which will enable the board supply water to communities in Igbaja. In a similar fashion, Lafiaji water works has also been fixed. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 6 Governor commences reconstruction of Sango Court A court in Sango is now being rebuilt by the Kwara state goverment. The reconstruction of the court came only a few weeks aer Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq visited the premises as part of his July facility visits of MDAs in the state. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 7 Governor Abdulrazaq approves repayment of N450m diverted UBE funds Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has approved the repayment of N450 million allegedly diverted by the previous administration from the Universal Basic Education (UBE) funds. The latest approval will now see the removal of Kwara state from the blacklist of the UBE, thereby widening the access of Kwara children to basic education. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 8 Governor Abdulrazaq releases 250m payment for outstanding salaries Striking employees of the Kwara state-owned tertiary institutions have now returned to work aer Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq approved the payment of N250 million to pay off the outstanding salaries of workers in the institutions. Some of the benefiting institutions include College of Arabic and Islamic Studies (CAILS), Kwara College of Education amongst others. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 0 9 Offa Garage road fixed aer years of neglect The long-neglected Offa Garage road roundabout has now been fixed following Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s approval of 20m to fix several township roads in Ilorin last month. The repair work done on the road will help end the nightmare commuters face everyday on the road. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 0 Gov Abdulrazaq re-equips Kwara Radio Only recently Kwara Radio went off-air for over 3 months, but this is now a thing of the past as Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has now reequipped the radio station. The radio station was also given a faceli as the governor promised to make the station the priority of his administration. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 1 Governor Abdulrazaq commences road repairs in Baruteen LGA A new lease of life has now been brought to the lives of the residents of Gwanara District in Baruteen Local Government Area, Kwara following the commencement of repair works on the Ilesha-Gwanara, Gwanara-Kenu-Okuta and Gwanara-Bukuruo roads in the state. Prior to the repair work, residents of the area relied on boat rides as their means of transport. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 2 Governor Abdulrazaq releases 200m for rural development projects Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has approved the immediate release of the first portion of ₦200 million as counterpart funds for the takeoff of Rural Access and Agricultural Market Project (RAAMP III). Funded by the World Bank and other donor agencies, the fund will see the repair of several rural roads in the state. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 3 Governor Abdulrazaq approves 232m to revamp Kwara Hospitals Following his visit to several hospitals in Ilorin, Kwara Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has approved 232m in his effort to revamp the health sector in the state. The governor also promised to pay keen attention to the health sector over the course of his administration. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 4 KWARMA concludes repair work on Centre Igboro road The Kwara State Road Management Agency (KWARMA) has concluded repair works on Centre Igboro road in Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state. Centre Igboro road is among the 10 roads the agency repaired in the first phase of its ongoing rehabilitation efforts. 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 5 100 DAYS O F HOPE, PRUDENCE, AND RESTORATION IN KWARA By Rafiu Ajakaye It is 100 days since AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was inaugurated as the seventh democratically elected Governor of Kwara State. On his first day in office, AbdulRazaq gave a clear signal his administration would be a departure from a past laced with profligacy and fanfare that had crippled the state. He had insisted on a lean inauguration ceremony on the grounds that Kwara didn’t have the resources to waste. No partying. No merriments. He backed that up with a no-private-jet policy and has kept a very lean entourage that oen comprises himself, with his signature backpack, and a few aides. Three months on, he continues to ride his personal vehicle as a mark of discipline. At a post-inauguration meeting with Kwara thought leaders, he told them he wouldn’t be a ‘Government House’ Governor. At the parley with civil servants, he made it clear they were free to air their views as the engine room of government without fear of witch-hunt. He has kept both promises. AbdulRazaq has repeatedly been sleeping in some villages in the state, visiting schools, hospitals and moribund institutions and industries — dozens of kilometres away from the comfort of Government House or his own home — to better assess the endemic rot and determine government redemptive initiatives. The last time a Kwara Governor slept outside of the state capital while on state duty was in the 1980s under Cornelius Adebayo. AbdulRazaq added another dimension to his when he summoned the permanent secretaries and directors to join him for a meeting at a decrepit school in Patigi, many kilometres away from their Ilorin base, so they could have firsthand experience of the extent of the pains of the people and the rot to be fixed. In July, he directed that the 2019 budget review sessions be held at the Special Needs School at 100 DAYS O F PROGRESS 1 6 Apata Yakuba, away from the air-conditioned conference rooms at Government Secretariat. The Governor said holding budget review sessions in an environment as deprived as that school was his way of redirecting the focus of the technocrats to the plights of the poor. The main talking point aer inauguration was the fate of the so-called sunset workers whose employments were almost surreptitiously effected by the departing administration. Aer initially suspending their pay to allow for some checks, AbdulRazaq restored their salary, in what was a clear departure from the past. In 2003, workers and statutory appointees engaged by the administration of the late Mohammed Lawal were summarily sacked and all entitlements due them withheld without any recourse to the law. AbdulRazaq’s position was that the affected civil servants are Kwarans. While their employments may indeed be questionable, he didn’t rule out the possibility of a general screening — now ongoing for teachers — to ensure that only qualified hands are allowed to teach our children. This instantly set him apart as a statesman. AbdulRazaq inherited a state with abysmal records on all fronts. People of Baruten oen have to visit the neighbouring Benin Republic to access medical care. In Ilorin, the state capital, thousands troop to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital for minor health issues. The General Hospital in Ilorin, the state’s premier hospital, didn’t even have water— much less drugs or basic facilities to attend to millions of people.