AHEAD of the 2023 election Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, who is seeking a second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said that his party would retain power in the state because “Kwarans cannot return to dark years of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP 20-year rule.”

The governor who said there was total collapse of governance in the state under PDP, boasted that today no part of Kwara State was without appreciable positive imprints of the Otoge administration, adding that significant progress has been made across sectors between 2019 and now.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, the Governor said his investments in healthcare, education, rural-urban development, water facilities, and workers' welfare are so significant that emerging data have shown a wide gap between what he met and the situation today.

The Governor said the administration has achieved a lot by working with development partners who had earlier left the state for lack of support, adding that the government now works with SightSavers International to strengthen eye care services in the state.

Asserting that no electoral ward in the state is without positive traces of his administration, the Governor said project commissioning is hardly a measure of development or performance.

He listed many of the administration's completed projects in road, water, health, and education across the state, adding: “Beyond these, we have many ongoing projects that have been designed towards boosting the economic base of the state. We have a visual arts centre, film factory, garment factory, innovation hub, and of course the international conference centre. There are other major projects too which we will complete this year, such as the Ilesha Gwanara Road, the Tunde Idiagbon Bridge, Adeta-Yebumot Road, Osi-Obbo Road, and the largest squash court in the country which is eight-winged, among many others.”

Asked to speak about the disagreement within former Otoge allies, AbdulRazaq said it has nothing to do with the government's performance or service delivery to the largest majority of the people but essentially about issues of political ambitions and interests which he said are legitimate in a democracy.

“Whether in water, rural development, basic education or healthcare, or workers' welfare, we have clearly delivered on our mandate and we continue to do more,” he said.

The Governor also spoke on the future of the capital city Ilorin, which he said has been taken care of with the Ilorin City Master Plan — the second of its kind since Kwara became a state in 1967.

“Most of the growth we have now is unplanned and that is why you have flooding, poor ventilation and lack of green space, among others. The first and only plan of the city was done between 1967 and 1970s. It expired many decades ago without replacement. We have come up with a new one; we are also in the process of designing for the Offa-Oyun axis, Igbomina, Patigi/Edu and Baruten axis of the state,” the Governor said.