Date: 2019-10-28

? It's a miracle - Community Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state has fulfilled his promise to upgrade the damaged Taiwo Road in Omu-Aran town from surface dressing to asphalt overlay, exactly one week after the governor attended the town's annual get-together where appeals were made for the government to do the road.

TribuneOnline gathered that the Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency (KWARMA) has started asphalt work on the road following approval and release of funds for the rehabilitation work.

At the Omu-Aran Day held in the town last week, the community called on Governor AbdulRazaq to consider fixing the road, among other requests which the governor had promised to look into.

Omu-Aran Development Association (ODA), President Bisi Adeyemi, called the development a miracle, hailing the speed with which the government acted on the issue.

"That's a great development. It is a miracle. It is a miracle because the governor promised something and within a week he's doing exactly that. That is marvellous. He shows he's a man of action. The community is highly appreciative and grateful to the governor for this," Adeyemi said regarding the road work.

The governor had also at the same event said his administration's upcoming social investment programme has been designed to fund small businesses, artisans, and lift many people out of the poverty bracket.

"This journey has begun with the passage of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme Bill by the State Assembly. We will make sure to redistribute wealth to our people, lift many people out of the poverty line, and support small and medium scale businesses to grow.

"Kwara South, like the northern senatorial district, has huge potentials in tourism and agriculture, especially agro-processing. The great traditional displays here today attest to this. We are seeking partnerships to attract investments to these sectors. On our part, we are going to commit a lot of money into opening up our state with rural roads and basic amenities like decent schools, sanitation facilities, and the functional primary healthcare system. We have recently paid RAAMP counterpart funding."

AbdulRazaq also said efforts are ongoing to strengthen security across the state and put in place the modest infrastructure to facilitate development in the hinterlands, adding that the best strategy to build a viable state was to help small businesses to grow through funding and infrastructure.

"Our administration is also working on putting in place the necessary security architecture to protect lives and properties. We are seriously working to ensure that normal banking operations resume in our major towns like Offa, Omu-Aran, Patigi and so on. The current situation where full-time banking operations are restricted to the state capital is not acceptable," he added.