Date: 2019-12-08

The Kwara State APC governorship candidate, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has spelt out the priorities of his administration to include investments in education, infrastructure, health, agriculture, enterprise, and human capital development.

In an address to wrap-up the three-day retreat held for his cabinet members in Patigi, the governor said the state is almost starting "from the scratch" across every sector, especially education and primary healthcare, and directed the appointees to be ready to spend long hours, listen more, and work as a team to rebuild the state.

Detailing the challenges ahead and the opportunities in them for Kwara, the governor said, "The manifesto has been dissected and as you have known, we are going to emphasise on key issues because if we try to do everything, at the end of the day, we might look back and see that we've probably done nothing.

"We have to do big in agriculture, health care, education and enterprise – social investment scheme, job creation and infrastructure. "I was (just coming from) Kpada. A journey of 30 minutes from Patigi took almost two hours. There is no road, no electricity, the health care and the school system has collapsed and so on. These are part of the challenges you will face when you assume office. It cuts across.

"We're building from the scratch and people may not understand the enormity of the challenges you are all going to face. You will all have sleepless nights. I can't over-emphasise the challenges ahead of us and that means we all have to work together. That is what a cabinet is all about.

We are all in it together like the symbol of our political party - broom. So, we need to be strong together to move the state forward."

He urged the appointees to ensure that they constantly relate with their communities for their input into governance. He said his administration will not abandon projects inherited from the previous administration but may always renegotiate the contracts to save public funds.

Apart from all the newly appointed cabinet members, the event was also attended by top government functionaries including the Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi; Secretary to the State Government Prof Mamman Saba Jibril; Head of Service Mrs Modupe Susan; and the Chief of Staff to the Governor Aminu Adisa Logun.