The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has said that effective policy formulation and implementation are critical factors for sustainable growth and development even as he observed that Nigeria's destiny is in the hands of the rulers and the ruled.

Governor Ahmed made this known yesterday while speaking at the 25th annual National Education Conference of Nigeria Textile, Garment and Tailoring Employers Association on (NTGTEA) and National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) holding at Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Kwara State.

Ahmed who identified energy and good roads as the two major potent factors that are capable of moving the nation to the next level, said Nigeria will remain stagnant in-terms of development unless adequate attention and consideration is given to the two sectors.

The governor therefore identified effective and efficient policies as a vehicle that will drive the country to achieve its aim of becoming members of the G20 in the 20:20:20.

“It is high time as a nation to down play political sentiment and allow collective national interest to take the front line in our national discourse,” Ahmed said, adding that Nigeria could become great if leaders evolve good and viable policies.
“It is therefore with mixed feeling that I deliver this address, recalling how the once prosperous textile industry, the economic and even social lifeline of the north become comatose,” he said.

Governor Ahmed said the then Nigeria's booming textile industries were hit by the gradual infrastructure decay afflicted Nigeria from the agilities to date and epileptic power supply which also led to their products becoming overpriced and uncompetitive.

Earlier in his address the National President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Omar Abdulwaheed who was represented at the occasion by his Vice, Comrade Isa Aremu called on political office holders in the country to evolve policies and programmes that would have direct positive impact on the lives of the citizenry.