Date: 2012-04-18

The Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed is officially in the Netherlands on the occasion of the trade and investment visit to the Netherlands. Since resumption of office, he has worked very hard to attract more investors to his state and his ambition is to turn Kwara State to a good basket in Nigeria. This mission has been made possible by Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Ambassador Dr. Mrs Akanbi whose business initiatives is yielding positive result for various Nigeria state governments and the nation at large.

This is not her first time of organizing such business forum of State Governors. His Excellency is expected during this visit to reach concrete agreement with Dutch business investors who are already interested in doing business in Kwara State.

He would also unfold packages that he has in stock for them to invest in Kwara State of Nigeria and what they stand to benefit from the state in terms of their investments. With what the Governor brings to the table, it is a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Ambassador Akanbi has also planned a dinner evening and gets to meet the Governor for 18th of April in Den Haag where Nigerians of various works of life in the Netherlands would have an opportunity to get to know the Governor and ask questions. The Nigerianvoice.com also learnt there are business opportunities for Nigerians in the Diaspora that intend to go back home to invest in Kwara State for instance.

Right now, Governor Ahmed is probably the most active of all the State Governors because of his interest to improve the quality of life for his people who elected him. His past records speak for it when he served as Commissioner in various ministries in the State under Governor Dr. Bukola Saraki.

He introduced e-budgeting system for efficient and effective preparation process, thus improving fiscal discipline and produced the first ever Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS) as foundation for future sound economic development. He constantly advised on funding models to support governments' project implementation to ensure their success.

Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed undertook youth empowerment and poverty alleviation programs to all the wards in his constituency, Ifelodun LG, which involved distribution of tractors, water tankers, grinding machines, sewing machines, hair dryers, barbing saloon kits, textbooks, scholarship awards, phone accessories and mobile phone centres among others.

He also empowered widows in various localities within the state and undertook various community development programs.

In 2003, Ahmed was a young and little known technocrat when he was spotted by the future governor of Kwara State, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and appointed as Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development. Ahmed kept this key portfolio over six meritorious years, until 2009 when he was assigned to start the equally critical Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

Through diligence, resourcefulness and integrity, he retained the confidence of the former governor and the respect, loyalty and cooperation of the staff, not just of the ministries over which he was commissioner, but of the entire state civil service and the numerous corporate organizations that were in partnership with the state under the go-getting administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki.

When the ruling People's Democratic Party in Kwara State acceded to the popular Glamour that a knowledgeable and trustworthy member of the Bukola Saraki Administration should be nominated to continue the legacy of the term-barred governor and that the principle of power rotation among the three senatorial zones of the state should be entrenched, a rare elite consensus easily produced Alhaji Ahmed as other aspirants within the party stepped down to make the party's gubernatorial primary a coronation ceremony for the Share-born technocrat turned politician. It is remarkable that Kwara is perhaps the only state in the federation where the PDP primaries did not attract a single judicial litigation!

In areas of extra-curricular activities, the Governor's inquisitiveness as a child was later to develop into his love for sports. Having curiously learnt swimming from the river as a child, along with colleagues, he was to develop into a good swimmer. As an active sportsman, he represented the University of lIorin at one of the Nigeria University Games (NUGA) in 1982, in swimming and Kwara State in badminton. He is also a good Lawn Tennis player.

He is multi-lingual and speaks Hausa, Yoruba and English fluently. He is happily married to Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, and they are blessed with Children.