• Govt cultivating over 3,000 hectares for soya bean

• Govt giving seedlings, fertilisers, other inputs to 10,000 farmers

Food security remains a top priority for the Kwara government as billions of naira are invested in different agricultural initiatives this year, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq said on Wednesday.

Abdulrazaq spoke at the government-enabled Kwara Youth Farm in Malete, Moro local government, where at least 1,500 hectares of land are being cultivated for soya bean production this farming season, while over 1,500 hectares more are to be farmed in the coming seasons.

The Governor was taken round the huge farm by Arowojobe Tolulope, the project manager, and Ibrahim Tunji Mukaila, the farm manager at the Malete Youth Farm.

“Apart from many other initiatives, this is to deepen our resolve on food security. I am here to see things for myself and to make sure that the right investments are put in place. I am on site to see that our investment programmes (in agric) are being implemented, and to see the challenges we are facing,” he told reporters on the sideline of the visit.

“I’m impressed with what I’ve seen; it’s very good. We need to do more, and we will continue to do more. This will lead us to a bumper harvest at the end of the season and prepare us for the dry season farming, during which we will certainly escalate things.”

The Governor’s tour of the Malete Farm comes as the administration escalates its support for farmers across the state.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is currently distributing seedlings, fertilisers, and other farm inputs to at least 10,000 farmers.

Recently, the state executive council approved N2.9bn worth of support for farmers — a few weeks after the Governor on June 26 launched the distribution of the fourth phase of agricultural and infrastructural assets under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme, targeting over 600,000 beneficiaries across different categories in the 16 local government areas.

Rafiu Ajakaye

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

July 31, 2024

•Say Governor AbdulRazaq recognises us, fair to us

After extensive delegate meeting of all Igbo Communities Town Union meetings, all States meetings of the five Igbo speaking states and all Outstations meetings (other Igbo meetings outside Ilorin), held this 29th day of July, 2024, the following resolutions were drawn:

1. That Igbo resident in Kwara State has no reason howsoever to protest or join in any national protest.

2. That our earlier convention/agreement to support government in power at all material times remains unshaken.

3. That pursuant to the position of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide (the only socio-cultural organization to have publicly distanced itself from the planned protest); we as affiliate body (Igbo Community in Kwara) can not associate ourselves with the said protest.

4. That we are under divine injunction to always “seek the peace of the land wherever we sojourn/reside because in the peace of such land, we’ll experience peace” – Jeremiah 29:7b.

Finally, all Igbos are hereby directed *never* to join in any protest. Ours is an egalitarian society, we appreciate the fact that it will be too early to measure the performances of this government; noting the numerous policies put in place to address our collective challenges. Again, we’re everywhere in the world and known what’s obtainable out there globally, thus we hold no grudge against the Federal Government, how much more the government of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq CON (our own government) that has always recognized us and being fair to us. In the light of the above, we shall all go about our normal businesses on the said dates.

Thank you all.

E-signed:

1. Chief Boniface Chigozie Okeke (President-General ICA, Kwara State)

2. Barr. Chigozie Angus Igwebuike (S A Inter-Community Relations (Igbo)) & 2nd V. President ICA, Kwara State.

3. Sir, Engr. T. N. Njoku (President-General Emeritus and Chairman Council of Patrons ICA, Kwara State.

4. Sir, Emmanuel Ezezue (President KWAITA).

The Kwara State Coalition of APC Support Groups has accused Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of a plot to hijack nationwide protests for their political gain.

The accusations were made on Monday in a media parley in Ilorin, the state capital

The group said the PDP’s move is aimed at discrediting the APC and undermining its credibility ahead of the upcoming September 21st local government elections.

“We have uncovered their plans to hijack and weaponise the nationwide protest for their own political purposes. They intend to hide under the guise of a protest and paint our state in a negative light which is a desperate attempt to discredit the APC and undermine our credibility ahead of the upcoming local government elections in September”.

“This planned protest is a smokescreen for their true intentions: to cause chaos and destruction in our state”.

They called on Dr. Bukola Saraki to stop inciting his followers against the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state.

“We specifically call on Dr. Bukola Saraki, the leader of the opposition (PDP) in Kwara State, to stop inciting his followers and desist from his destructive tendencies”.

“We must not forget the dark days of the past when Dr. Bukola Saraki and his cohorts were in charge of our state for 16 long years”.

“During their reign, our state was plagued by corruption, mismanagement, and stagnation. No meaningful development was recorded commensurate with the available resources at their disposal, and our state was left in shambles”.

“Dr. Saraki’s leadership was marked by division, strife, and destruction. He and his followers were only interested in enriching themselves rather than working for the benefit of our state”.

“But we will not let them deceive the public to get power again. We will not let them undermine the progress we have made under the APC”.

“We urge Dr. Saraki to desist from this unpatriotic path, call his followers to order, stop the scheme to politicise protests in Kwara, and work towards the peace and prosperity of our state.

The group urged Nigerians to be united and support the administration of President Bola Tinubu’s vision for a prosperous and equitable nation. While calling on Kwarans to support and pray for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has demonstrated unwavering commitment to addressing Nigeria’s longstanding challenges. His bold and tenacious leadership has been a beacon of hope, tackling issues head-on with a deep understanding of the plight of Nigerians”.

The group however urged the security agencies to be vigilant and prevent any attempts by the PDP to disrupt the peace of Kwara State.

• _Says govt needs accurate data for devt, security_

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday flagged off a residents’ registration exercise, an initiative he said would help to generate accurate database, guide government’s developmental plans, and provide relevant information that will enhance security of lives and properties.

The Governor also said such a database will assist in allocation of resources, including citizens’ access to social protection services like health insurance and government’s supports across different demographies.

The Governor presented himself for registration, conducted by the Acting General Manager of the Kwara State Residents’ Registration Agency (KWASRRA) Tajudeen Jimoh.

Governor Abdulrazaq had in December 2021 launched the KWASSRA, calling it a response to the imperatives for accurate information about every single person who resides in the state and how to plan for their needs in every way conceivable.

“What we are doing today marks the formal commencement of the registration exercise, which will capture relevant data of every resident of Kwara State,” he said at the launch on Monday.

“The essence is to have a reliable data bank of everyone and use same for planning, allocation of resources, and security preparedness. With a reliable database, planning becomes easier and everyone living within our state is easily identified for purposes of planning, social protection programmes and other government services, and security.

“With the right data, we can plan for today and make fair projections for the future. With reliable data, we will know who is employed and who is not, and further deploy resources to tackle other challenges of development.

“My team and I are taking part in it today. I urge everyone to also make themselves available for the data capturing exercise at designated centres and time. When you do that, you are contributing your own quota to sustainable growth and development.”

The exercise will include biometrics to generate a unique identity for each resident.

Rafiu Ajakaye

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

July 29, 2024

Commercial Motorcyclists, otherwise called Okada riders in Kwara State, have described Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a responsive leader that earns their respect at all times.

The transporters, under their various organizations such as Road Transport Workers Association of Nigeria (RTWAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Okada Riders Association of Nigeria (ORAN), and Motorcycle Operators Union of Nigeria (MOUN), said this in Ilorin on Sunday during their solidarity rally for the APC led government both in central and the state.

Converging at the forefront of Amusement parks in the capital city, the groups came out in their large numbers on Sunday to rally support for the government of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whom they said need continuous understanding of the public.

Addressing members, the state Chairman for NURTW, Alhaji Abdulrazak Ariwoola, said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has performed wonderfully well to deserve continuous support of the people.

Ariwoola, who spoke through Alhaji Abdulazeez Tinuola, appreciated the Governor for being a listening leader and how he has been responsive to the welfare of their members in the state.

He, however, declared that none of their members are ready to join any demonstration that he noted could disrupt the existing peace and harmony of the state

Gov visits Ijagbo, hails Onijagbo’s peaceful reign as monarch marks 1st anniversary_

• _Attends Fidau for Olupako’s mother in Share; joins burial rites for Prof Yusuf’s mum in Offa_

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has appealed to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the administration continues to roll out programmes to ease things and improve the living standards of people.

The Governor spoke in Ijagbo, Oyun local government of the state, at the 1st coronation anniversary of the Onijagbo of Ijagbo land Oba Sarafadeen Adeniyi Babalola and the launch of Ijagbo Palace Development Fund.

AbdulRazaq said the President had assumed office amid mounting economic downturn, which required systemic reforms and understanding of the people.

“President Tinubu is gradually fixing things. So he needs our patience and support to get things done,” the Governor said.

“For those who are planning protests, let them have patience with Mr. President to fix things. It is an appeal. He just spent one year in the office. It is also too early for those who have political ambitions to start measuring his performance.”

The Governor congratulated the monarch on his 1st anniversary on the throne, commending him for promoting peace and unity and supporting the government to succeed.

“We need the continued support of the people of the Ijagbo community and the entire state to succeed. Our success is your success. Both the Onijagbo of Ijagbo and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice have spoken well. All that they have said is already being worked out. We are committed to improving access to basic infrastructure in Ijagbo land and across the state,” he said.

The anniversary was attended by various dignitaries, including Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South); AGF/Justice Minister Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN; Chairman KAM Holdings Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf; Ijagbo high chiefs; President of Ijagbo Descendants’ Union (IDU) Chief Tunde Agboola Oyawoye.

It was also attended by the Olupo of Ajase Ipo Oba Ismaila Yahaya Alebiosu; Olofa of Offa Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II; Olomu of Omu Aran Oba Abdulraheem Olaoti;

and Olusin of Ijara Isin Oba Solomon Olugbenga Oloyede; among others.

Fagbemi, for his part, said the federal government is doing its best to salvage the present economic situation in the country and called on people to shelve the planned protests.

The AGF assured that Nigerians would soon begin to feel the ease of the transformative agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration.

Prince Fagbemi appreciated God that the first year of the reign of Onijagbo has been peaceful and impactful, and thanked Governor AbdulRazaq for his administration’s support to the community.

Oba Sarafadeen, in his remarks, thanked the Governor for his support for the community and solicited for more, especially in the area of road infrastructure and schoolteachers.

He praised AbdulRazaq for doing so much on security for people’s lives and properties, saying Kwara is relatively peaceful under the present administration in the state.

The monarch also appreciated Prince Fagbemi, Senator Ashiru, and the Olofa of Offa for their numerous support and advice, which he said have assisted him to achieve greatly in the last one year.

He disclosed a plan by his community to establish a community secondary school to complement government’s efforts.

The Governor had earlier visited Share, Ifelodun local government, where he attended the Fidau prayer for the mother of the Olupako of Share, Oba Olawale Aruna Ilufemiloye, late Alhaja Bilikisu Asunle Suleiman, who died on 19th July, 2024.

He also attended the funeral of the mother of Prof. Yusuf Abdul Rasheed Musa, Alhaja Wulemat Musa, in Offa.

Rafiu Ajakaye

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

July 28, 2024

This is to inform members of the public that the sanitation exercise for this month will come up on Saturday, 27th July, 2024 starting from seven to nine o’clock (7:00 am to 9:00 am) in the morning.

Residents of the State are hereby enjoined to fully participate in the exercise, by cleaning both residential and business environments.

Members of the public are to note as usual that there will be no vehicular or human movement across the state within the scheduled two-hour duration of the exercise.

Security and Monitoring agents will be on ground to monitor and ensure compliance across the entire State.

Waste Management trucks will also be made available for waste collections and subsequent disposal of same at the dump site of the metropolis.

Members of the public are hereby warned that it is an offence to dump refuse on pedestrian walkways, road dividers, drainages, canals and all other unapproved dump sites.

In the same vein, any attempt to obstruct government officials from carrying out their statutory obligations will be dealt with, within the ambit of the law.

Yakub Kamaldeen Aliagan

Press Secretary,

Ministry of Environment.

• Says scars of ENDSARS remain with many businesses, families

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said the people of the state are very peaceful and thoughtful, and will avoid any action that may disrupt the peace of the state or cause destruction of lives and businesses.

“I’m confident that the people of Kwara, whether old or young, understand that challenges of life are not to be tackled through actions that may cause further damage or have negative consequences for themselves, their families, our state, and our country,” the Governor said in a statement.

“Kwarans learn from history. Together as a people, we faced the horror of the ENDSARS protest that some roughnecks used as a smokescreen to loot properties, businesses, and attack innocent citizens. We had to deploy scarce resources to support many of the businesses that were ruined so that no further job losses will be recorded. The scars of ENDSARS still remain with many families today.

“I understand that many of our citizens want faster actions to ease the economic situation. This is a valid concern to which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all of us in government continue to respond through multidimensional approaches. However, the worst we can do to ourselves at this time is to adopt any action that may worsen things, especially for businesses or public infrastructure put in place to serve all of us.

“To our young people, social media influencers, and opinion moulders, I urge you to help mobilise for national growth, peace, harmony, improved socioeconomic development, general well-being, and stability. Let us avoid any action that may end in collective regret, loss of lives, or destruction of our common patrimony. A protest of any kind, however well-intentioned, may trigger off destructive actions. Let us not give in to whatever temptations to set off our state or country on the path of instability.

“I commend the different stakeholders in the state, including community associations across the state, for mobilising for peace and stability. That is the way to go as our challenges will not disappear when we turn against one another. Our challenges are better discussed and steadily resolved in an atmosphere of peace and stability.”

Rafiu Ajakaye

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

July 26, 2024

The N70,000 minimum wage bill recently passed by the National Assembly has again exposed the ignorance and ignoramus in Pastor Bukola Saraki’s camp. As they embarked on a self-afflicting sojourn when the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the financial autonomy of the 774 local government areas across the country, these deluded guys have been doling out gibberish against the person of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq since the new minimum wage bill was passed.

These Pastor Saraki unintelligent minions in their unintelligent pieces wanted Governor Abdulrazaq to implement the N70,000 almost immediately without putting any structure in place as if they were the ones who taught him how he went about paying the current N30,000 minimum wage which their party couldn’t pay while in power. One of them in his warped piece accused the governor of parading the federal government initiative as his. I ask, when and how?

Governor Abdulrazaq unlike Pastor Bukola Saraki and his handpicked successor Abdulfatah Ahmed, has always differentiated his initiatives from the federal government’s. And the reason he’s continued to receive commendations from well-meaning Kwarans for both is because he has been the one facilitating most of the FG projects. When Saraki held the two positions Abdulrazaq holds today, he allowed his selfish interest to enter his head and turned himself into a low-budget Anthony Joshua at a point.

Since Sarakites have made it a habit to bring their leader’s dirty past to the media for cleansing, I would like to peruse how Saraki reacted to the N18,000 minimum wage bill passed by the NASS while he was the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum. On March 1, 2011, the Vanguard newspaper quoted Saraki to have said: “Govs can’t pay minimum wage”. Saraki who said this months into the expiration of his tenure didn’t pay minimum wage and also ensured that his boy Ahmed didn’t, too. I ask, where were these uncouth Saraki boys then?

Has Abdulrazaq come out like Saraki to say his colleagues can’t pay the new minimum? NO! But today, they all want the governor to do what Saraki and Ahmed joined together and failed to do in governance because of their greed. Abdulrazaq unlike Saraki is a compassionate, pragmatic and progressive leader. He’s demonstrated that over and over again. He doesn’t need to be called out by the uncouth elements in the Saraki camp before he will take decisive action.

Here’s my free advice for Bukola Saraki and his minions who have continued to hit the hornet’s nest with their little sense of history and unfruitful dirty politics. The Kwarans you led yesterday are not the Kwarans of today. The latter are more informed and could voracious researchers. You can’t tell them you did A in the past whereas you did B. It’s for this reason more of your lies and propaganda against the administration of Governor Abdulrazaq has not yielded fruits.

Governor Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman isn’t Saraki or Ahmed who were notorious for disappointing and afflicting Kwara civil servants while they held sway. Abdulrazaq has continued to prove this distinction with his timely response to the welfare of the civil servants in the state. But wait, isn’t it funny that the people from a party that owed salaries and halted the promotions of civil servants and didn’t pay the 18,000 minimum wage are the ones accusing the man who has been cleaning their mess of not wanting to pay the N70,000 minimum wage bill passed few days ago? 😆

•24 years after, govt clears allowances for ex-councillors

•cash backs 2023, 2024 promotion for workers

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration has defrayed the total pension arrears it inherited from the past administration, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

The statement said the administration has also remained up to date in its payments of pensions to all categories of workers, including local government pensioners.

“Total amount inherited before this Administration was N3,315,686,405.33k; the total payment by this administration as at 15/7/24 is N1,870,636,297.67k. At the local government allocation meeting this week, however, the said Outstanding Balance (Pension Arrears) of N1,445,050,107.66 has now been approved to clear the remaining balance,” according to the statement by the Commissioner for Finance Dr. Hauwa Nuru.

She said “the available records show that this Administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is not in any way indebted in the payment of Pension (salary) to Pensioners, but inherited Arrears of Pension (Outstanding) of the total sum of N3,315,686,405.33k (Three Billion, three hundred and fifteen million, six hundred and eighty-six thousand, four hundred and five Naira, thirty-three Kobo) only as at the end of May, 2019”.

The local government meeting also approved an additional ₦230,209,389.31 to settle outstanding furniture allowance arrears for former councilors from 1999-2002, 2004-2007, 2007-2010, and 2013-2016, according to the Commissioner.

The government has also approved cash-backing for the 2024 promotion exercise for eligible senior and junior Local Government staff and the 2023 promotion exercise for SUBEB staff, she added.

Dr. Nuru said this approval again underscores Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s commitment to improving worker welfare in the state.

The Commissioner assured workers that the current administration will ensure all promotions are cash-backed in due time.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had consistently pledged to clear all pension and promotion arrears inherited from the previous administration, a promise he has steadily fulfilled since taking office.

The administration has also consistently released the sums of N100m monthly to steadily pay arrears of gratuities, which dated back to more than a decade.

The government has similarly cleared all the salary arrears it inherited from the former administration, some dating back to 2015.

Babatunde Toyin Abdulrasheed

Press Secretary

Ministry of Finance