Date: 2018-01-17

The umbrella body of all socio-cultural organisations in Ilorin emirate, Kwara State, the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), has called on the federal government to without further delay provide the people of the state with a federal college of education to boost the educational development of the state.

While speaking on current issue of restructuring, the National President, Ambassador Uthman AbdulAzeez said the emirate by providence is part of the northern region of Nigeria and north central in particular.

The group argued that the state that was created over 50 years ago could not boast of a federal college of education whereas Kogi State that was created out of the state in 1991 has a federal college of education.

AbdulAzeez disclosed this in Ilorin, while reading the communique issued at the end of the national summit convened by the union to fashion out a way forward towards the socio-economic development of the community.

According to him, "since Kwara State is part of the federation, it behoves on the federal government to extend the federal presence to the state in the provision of a federal college of education."

He said such development would contribute to the educational development of the area and would provide employment opportunities for the people of the community and the state in general. Abdul-Azeez also expressed concern over the increasing rate of activities of cultists and ritualists particularly in the emirate and in the state, while calling on all security agencies to re-energise their apparatus to protect lives and property.

"The persistent cultists/hoodlums' activities in our institutions with spiral effects on the entire emirate and indeed the state is worrisome. We appreciate the efforts of the government and various community associations working in concert with IEDPU on this challenge. We urge them not to relent in their efforts in this regards.

"Once again we call on government to step-up its efforts at reducing this social menace to the barest minimum. We also urge parents to be more alive to their duties of proper upbringing of their children and also instil in them the values and the rich culture of the emirate."

He also called on sons and daughters of the emirate to be creative and dynamic, saying that such is the only way to be involved and be able to participate in the modern economic space of the emirate, the state and indeed the country at large.