By Folayimika Akanbi
Barely a few weeks to the commencement of party primaries, four Chairmen of Local Government Areas within Kwara Central Senatorial District have pleaded with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to join the race for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the senatorial seat in the National Assembly.
Those who made call include the Chairmen, Asa Local Government Area, Ilorin South Local Government Area, Ilorin East Local Government Area, Ilorin West Local Government Area, Alhaji Yahaya Sheu Amosa, Hon. Abdulmajeed Nuhu Podo, Hon. Lukman Olayinka Garuba Agbelere and Hon. Abdulrahman Shehu Ladan respectively.
At a press conference held in Ilorin on Thursday with political office holders including local government executive and legislative arms and prominent chieftains of the ruling APC from Kwara Central in attendance, the council chairmen were of the view that the incumbent Governor deserved the senatorial seat with his breakthroughs and achievements in office.
The chairman of Asa local government, Amosa, who led the briefing on behalf of his colleagues, said the footprints of AbdulRazaq were visible in all spheres of governance hence the resolve for the clarion call on him to throw his hat into the ring for the senatorial seat.
He recalled that the ‘O to Ge’ mantra that produced the Governor in 2019 and edged the then political dynasty out of governance of the state showed that it wasn’t a misplaced slogan with the performance of the Governor.
The council boss urged AbdulRazaq not to turn down the people calling him to further serve them in the legislative chamber of the National Assembly.
Amosa praised him for regular and timely payment of salaries with promotions of staff untainted nor denied.
He listed the achievements of the Governor in the education and health sectors as construction of new classrooms with furniture cum renovation of dilapidated ones throughout the state, construction of basic health centres, provision of modern arts equipment in all hospitals in the state and as well as recruitment of medical personnel manning the facilities.
He also noted the construction of roads and overhead bridges with the linking of rural areas to the markets in a manner that has made all the nooks and crannies accessible.
Amosa disclosed that the administration of the Governor constructed innovation hub, sugar film factory, “court house, international conference centre with five star hotels, KWIRS House and renovation of Kwara Hotels to a befitting standard.
As part of the achievements in office, the council chairman said AbdulRazaq has promoted commerce and assisted in guaranteeing stable supply of energy through the connection of various communities to the national grid and provision of transformers.
With the catalogue of achievements, Amosa said it was not surprising that there have been numerous calls from the four (4) LGAS of Kwara Central imploring council chairmen to call on the Governor to vie for the senatorial seat because nature abhors vacuum.
“With great pleasure, we assemble here from the length and breadth of Kwara Central Senatorial District to call on His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State to yield to people’s clarion call to make himself available for Service to the people of Central District in Kwara State.
“It is pertinent to refresh our memory in the build-up to the General Elections of 2019 when a political revolutionary movement christened “Otoge” was conceived and launched by the political elites in the state. They mobilised the populace to cast their votes in support of a mission to put an end to the control of the state government under Saraki hegemony.
“The success of this movement culminated into the election of His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Governor of our dear State of Harmony, Kwara State,” he said.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, commended the Governor for the inclusion of women in decision making and for empowering local communities.
“He has done his best for women in this state and I’m sure that if you give him this chance, he is going to do much more for our women. We truly appreciate him. Your Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, we appreciate your courage, conviction and commitment to making our women empowered without leaving anyone behind,” she said.
The Deputy Whip of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Mariam Yusuf Aladi, said the Governor has performed tremendously in health, education and others, calling on him to give Kwara Central senatorial seat a consideration to enable him to do more.
Aladi, who represents Ilorin South Constituency in the state House, said the call became imperative because the people of the state want his legacy to continue and added that exiting from the governance space completely would be unfair of him.
In his remarks, a former Personal Assistant Political to former Governor of the state, Alhaji Hassan Gegele, said the Governor has done well in the execution of projects, adding that he performed more than his predecessors in office.
The Executive Chairman of the state Universal Education Board, Professor Sheu Abdulraheem Adaramaja, urged the Governor to join the senatorial race owing to his achievements in office.
He noted that AbdulRazaq, while still serving as Governor, facilitated many federal projects to the state including Eiyenkorin/Afon/Okeso/Ojoku/Offa Road.
Adaramaja also disclosed the intention of the Governor to facilitate the construction of flyover in Oko-Olowo Area of Ilorin to put a stop to the frequency of crashes in the area.
He said, “We appeal to the Governor to rise up, consider us and contest for the Kwara Central Senatorial seat in the coming election. As a teacher, I want to ask. Does he deserve it? He deserves more than that.
“As one of the key drivers in this government, talking about basic education, I can tell you that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has invested maximally in the 52 wards of the four local government areas that made up Kwara Central Senatorial District. This is in terms of construction and renovation of classrooms, provision of water and toilets and enhancement of capacity of our teachers.
“We want him to continue to serve us. If not that the Constitution does not allow him, we would have said he should continue for third term. But the Constitution allows him after his second tenure to contest for the seat of senatorial district. On that note, I join the local government chairmen in Kwara Central to appeal to our leader, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to take into consideration and contest for the senatorial seat of Kwara Central.”
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