The Kwara State Government has faulted accusations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state that it has nothing to show after three year in office.
In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the special adviser to the governor on political communication, Bashir Adigun, said the PDP is “”frustrated by the giant strides of the governor, having realised the difference between his administration and their corrupt regime is like darkness and daylight”
Uninspiring speech
The PDP had, during a Democracy Day celebration, released a statement saying Governor Abdurahman Abdurrazaq has not lived up to the expectations of the people of the state.
The state PDP Chairman, Babatunde Mohammed, said the governor opted to read and an “uninspiring speech” instead of commissioning projects to mark the Day.
“Since June 12 is Democracy Day, the people of Kwara State expected that the administration will roll out dividends of democracy by unfolding new projects and social services, which will enhance the socio-economic development of the state and improve the standard of living of the people.
“It was a surprise that all the Governor did was to read a poorly crafted and badly delivered, uninspiring speech, which holds nothing for the people. This is a disappointment to the people of this great state given the numerous promises made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration when it was campaigning before the 2019 elections.
“Where are the jobs Governor Abdulrazaq promised the people? Where are the infrastructure projects he promised? Where is the good governance that he promised? Where is the increased salary and improved working conditions for the civil servants and other public sector workers he promised? Where are the better social services that he talked about? Empty promises and no creative thinking,” he said.
Mr Mohammed accused the governor of taking decisions without due diligence, lack of plans to make good use of funds from the federal account, generated revenue, development partners and others.
He also accused the administration of being corrupt and diverting public funds meant for developmental projects to sponsoring propaganda.
The party chairman said people of the state have become wiser and would work against the APC in the next general elections.
Frustrated people
In his response to the statement, however, Mr Adigun said those accusing the governor of not providing good leadership are frustrated.
Mr Adigun said the governor did not commission projects during the Democracy Day celebration because the administration was not into commisioning uncompleted projects.
He accused the PDP of commisioning deceptive projects like the Metropolitan Square, cargo terminal and Government House residence, when it was in power.
Mr Adigun said the APC administration has done a lot of development projects and would let the projects “speak for themselves.”
“The PDP government owed contractors billions of Naira on these projects despite partial handover and commissioning of the projects by the displaced government.
“We could have commissioned the Ilesha-Baruba ring road and other roads, the Eye clinic, school projects and the KWARALEARN project which puts a computer in every classroom in the state. If we begin to commission our projects, we will not have time for governance.
“We have made positive impact in the lives of our people despite receiving less statutory allocation than the PDP administration especially in the last five months that NNPC stopped contributing to the Federation Account. One will recall that the PDP administration could not pay N18,000 minimum wage but the AbdulRazaq administration continue to pay the new N30,000 minimum wage despite lower allocation from the Federation Account.
“Unlike the displaced dynasty in the state, ,Kwarans can attest to the humble, modest and low profile of the Governor, preferring high media visibility focusing people -oriented projects in all sectors and in all parts of the state rather than focusing on himself since he assumed office,” the governor’s aide, said.
He said the governor’s prudent nature has also led to the revival of state-owned media among other capital projects.
Mr Adigun said contrary to the allegation by the PDP that the people of the state were tired of the administration, thousands of Kwarans follow the governor on his various social media handles.
“Unlike the stereotypes, hundreds of thousands of youths and patriots and their families follow the Governor on the go, on his Twitter handle, Facebook and other social media platforms highlighting projects, ground-breaking ceremonies, monitoring and declared for use without waste of scarce resources in the name of projects’ commissioning.
“Media aides to the Governor , media crew comprising conventional and new media daily keep kwarans informed of Governor AbdulRazaq’s unprecedented achievements in Road infrastructure, Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Sports, Youth Development, Agriculture, Women empowerment, Civil Service Welfare, Provision of Water in urban and rural areas among others,” he said.
While declaring that Kwarans are no longer interested in the PDP, Mr Adigun said the people have seen the difference between the “PDP 16 years of looting and misrule and the laudable achievements of Governor AbdulRazaq in three years.”
The PDP, headed by the political family of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, ran Kwara State for 16 years until it was displaced in 2019 by the APC through the ‘Otoge’ ( Enough is Enough) political uprising.
Both parties are poised for a rematch in the 2023 election.
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