The Media Office of former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has fired back at the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration, dismissing its claims of superior road construction as "false, misleading, and infantile."

In a statement signed by the Press Officer on Local Matters, Mr. Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, the Saraki camp reacted to a recent assertion by the Governor's aide that AbdulRazaq had built more roads in six years than his predecessors including Saraki did in 25 years. Saraki's office challenged the government to provide a comprehensive list of these roads, questioning whether the state was simply "scrapping already tarred roads" to pour new asphalt rather than opening up new communities.

"If scrapping already tarred, smooth roads and putting new asphalt on them at huge cost... is what the administration is celebrating, then its understanding of development is warped," the statement said. It further alleged that the claims were a tactic to divert public attention from the "worsening security situation" in Kwara State.

The statement also accused Governor AbdulRazaq and his team of being "incensed" and "obsessed" with Saraki's name, despite the former governor leaving the Government House 15 years ago. The Media Office argued that if Saraki had truly performed poorly, the current administration would not constantly use his era as the benchmark for its own success.

Furthermore, the Saraki camp alleged that the Governor's 2019 campaign lacked a clear manifesto and was built solely on opposition to the Saraki political family, leading to what they described as a current lack of focus on substantive governance and economic prosperity.

The Media Office argued that the administration's continued emphasis on road claims was a deliberate distraction from insecurity in the state.

"It is also noticeable that the media handlers of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq's administration are always seeking ways to divert attention from serious issues. Let us ask them: Is the issue of scrapping of roads and pouring asphalt on them which they termed 'road construction' more important than the security of lives and property which is at the lowest levels in the state at this particular period?" the statement further stated.

Raising concerns about safety across the state, the statement alleged that killings, kidnappings, and displacement of farmers and residents had become frequent.

"Daily, people in the state are being killed, kidnapped, displaced from their homes and farms, while their properties are also being assailed. This negative development came with the incompetence and inability of the governor to think ahead and be proactive when some of our neighbouring states battle a security crisis," it stated.

The Media Office contrasted the current situation with Saraki's tenure as governor, insisting that Kwara was relatively secure during that period.

"Is this the insecure state that Saraki left in 2011? Even when Boko Haram was operating at its peak in the North East and other parts of the North when Saraki was governor, his administration made the state a haven for residents and visitors," the Media Office added.

The statement urged residents to be cautious of what it described as "cheap propaganda" and diversionary tactics.

"However, the public should be wary of the constant resort to diversionary tactics so as not to exacerbate the security crisis plaguing the state. All these unwarranted attacks on individuals and making false claims are cheap propaganda tactics that will be rejected by the generality of the people," it stated.

The Media Office concluded by calling on the governor and his team to refocus on governance.

"We call on the Kwara State Governor and other members of the administration to focus on key issues that will bring genuine and sustainable peace and development to the people. They should stop all these ineffective diversionary tactics," it concluded.