Date: 2018-07-20

ONE of the foremost labour leaders in the country, Mr. Issa Aremu, who declared his intention to contest Kwara State governorship election in 2019 on Wednesday, has given insight into why he wants to become the next governor of the state.

Aremu said, yesterday, that he was motivated to join the governorship race because Kwara State needed "a radical change from underdevelopment, mass hunger and poverty."

He lamented that unlike first generation states such as Kano, Rivers and Lagos, which had advanced in roads, health, education, security and public welfare, Kwara State "in recent times is poorly governed.

"It is time Kwarans organise and enthrone inclusive governance for mass prosperity. It is regrettable that having a few ruling elite has denied many Kwarans of well-being." He recalled that at creation, Kwara State was the "fastest growing state with bold development plans which laid foundations for accelerated economic growth, increased productivity in agriculture, industrial development and improved the quality of life of the people through the provision of necessary infrastructure.

"But the state has been left behind. So Kwara must return to development planning. Kwara State ranks 28th on the ranking of states by states GDP, beaten to it by newest states like Imo, Edo and Oyo." Aremu, who will pursue his ambition on the platform of Labour Party, LP, made the declaration in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the Nelson Mandela centenary birthday celebration attended by politicians, thousands of trade union activists among others. His declaration was preceded by an interactive session on the "State of (Kwara) State," during which discussants were unanimous that most of the industries in the state have closed down with loss of thousands of jobs, and resolved that Kwara State needs a dynamic and accountable leadership that must be ambitious with state building.