Date: 2019-05-06

The Kwara State Transition Committee 2019 at the weekend concluded the public interaction phase of its assignment, focusing largely on agricultural value chain, rapid infrastructure development, women and youth empowerment.

The committee spent the last few days of its work listening to scholars and entrepreneurs on how the new administration can maximise the state's agricultural potentials, engender growth and build an inclusive society that empowers women and the youth.

In a paper presented at a two-day Focused Workshop organised by the committee, Dr Limota Goroso Giwa of the US-based Global Fund urged the new administration to convene an all-women summit to draw up a policy directed at empowering them. The workshop centred on themes as 'Realising the agricultural potentials of Kwara State _ the Value Chain Approach' and 'Women Economic Empowerment in Kwara State – From Ad-hoc Interventions to a Sustainable Model'.

Goroso said women want to be respected and properly represented in the decision-making process as members of the society, calling on the new government to also prioritise girl-child education. Another resource person, Bolade Agbola, urged the new administration to be creative in its revenue drive and efforts to cope with population surge.

He warned that failure to adjust to the reality of a post-oil Nigeria is a threat to stability, especially when the country's economic growth is far below its population growth. The chairman of the committee, Aminu Adisa Logun, said the panel has gathered and processed a lot of quality information and data which he hopes would help the new administration to hit the ground running, after inauguration. Inaugurated on April 4 by the Governor-elect AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the 80-man committee interfaced with the government's team and technocrats on various sectors of the economy.