Date: 2011-07-18

In response an interview granted the failed gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress Of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN) and published in Thisday The Saturday Newspapers of July 16, 2011, the Kwara State government wishes to educate the candidate on veracity of the issues raised in the interview.

For someone aspiring to the highest office in Kwara State, it is shocking that Mr. Belgore displayed a high level of ignorance about issues relating good governance in the state. It is on record that Kwara State pioneered groundbreaking reforms in the education sector which are today reference points for other states in Nigeria. Some of these reforms have been adopted at the federal and by other states in Nigeria.

For Mr. Belgore to claim that infrastructure and basic amenities are lacking in Kwara makes it obvious that he is completely out of touch with what is currently on ground in the state. Four years ago, Kwarans had to trek 2500 meters to get access to clean portable water. Today, we are at 1500 meters and intend to achieve 500 meters within the next four years.

In addition, the previous administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki, covered 400 communities in its rural electrification program. The current administration has approved the implementation of rural electrification in the remaining 350 communities in the state. Following the inauguration of the Gamo transmission station by Dr. Bukola Saraki, Kwara State enjoys one of the most stable electricity supply in Nigeria today. The state government’s rural and urban renewal projects are designed to rehabilitate and construct new roads in across the state.

While acknowledging that youth unemployement is a national problem, the current administration of Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed signalled its intention to effectively tackle youth unemployment at its inception. It has since created the Kwara State Bridge Empowermnent Scheme (KWABES) which is designed to capture data on unemployed youth in the state as first step towards getting them employed in the public and private sector as well providing entrepreneurial training. The first set of 2000 beneficiaries of KWABES is due to be employed within a 100 days of the administration.

We also wish to state that we never did neither was there any need to borrow money to fund the electioneering campaign. All the funding used for the campaign came from well-meaning donors who believed in the need for continuity in the governance of Kwara State. In addition, the extensive social and physical infrastructure projects implemented by the previous administration, were enough to endear the current administration to the people of Kwara State and secure a comfortable victory in the last gubernatorial elections.

Regarding the laudable Shonga Farm projects, Mr. Belgore should have referred to his principals, especially Senator Remi Tinubu, who openly endorsed the project on national television during the recent screening of a ministerial nominee by the Senate. For the avoidance of doubt, Shonga Farms is a private concern and a reference point for successful commercial agriculture in Africa. We advise the candidate to educate himself by visiting Shonga Farms to witness the excellent work going on at the farms.

We are aware that Mr. Belgore is uninformed of past and present policies and achievements in the state he aspires to govern. We are not surprised that the candidate is ignorant about happenings in Kwara State since he has no visible investments neither has he made any contribution to the economic development of Kwara State. He would do well to educate himself on happenings in the state in order to make informed and objective criticism.

We must also restate the fact that the above landmarks have been achieved despite Kwara State’s revenue profile as the 34th state on the Federal Allocation list through resourcefulness, innovation and prudence.


Signed

Dr. Muideen Akorede
Senior Special Assistant, Media and Communications
to the Kwara State Governor.
18/07/2011