Kwara’s Golden Jubilee: A Well Deserved Celebration #KwaraAt50 By Sheriff Alase
Since her creation, Kwara State has preserved the virtues of harmony, peace and tranquility which indeed call for celebration of the golden jubilee, Kwara at 50.
Casting our minds back to the time when our existence began as a state will spur a move to commend the inputs of both the past and present administrations. Kwara is unarguably one of the states in Nigeria with lesser federal allocations and God’s given natural resources but possesses virtually the basic amenities possessed by those with fat federal allocation and numerous natural resources in a standard form.
As a patriotic Kwaran, I feel extremely elated whenever I travel and discover more of what we have in Kwara aren’t even available nor better in some others States. Kwara State University (KWASU), International Aviation College Ilorin, International Vocational Centre Ajase-Ipo, Ilorin International Airport, Kwara State Stadium Main Bowl with synthetic carpet, the completed and ongoing roads, quality education and others to mention but few are indeed our prides in Kwara for they are all of international standard.
Particularly, the Abdulfatah Ahmed-led administration has recorded several remarkable achievements in shaping the future of our dear state. This became evident when the State Government signed the Kwara State Revenue Administration Law, 2015, the law that established the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS).
The agency, KW-IRS, has offered almost a thousand of employment opportunities to Kwarans aside the fact that it strengthened the state’s economy through the boost of IGR.
One of the proactive steps taken by the State Government to continue to embark and fund capital projects was the launch of Kwara Infrastructure Development Fund ‘InfraFund Kwara’ (IF-K) with which N500m is earmarked from IGR monthly for infrastructural development across the state.
However, the International Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurship Centre (IVTEC) , Ajase-Ipo is a notable initiative of this administration designed to equip Kwara youths with vocational and entrepreneurial skills that can equally make them employers of labour rather than being job seekers.
It is no news that despite many states of the country, including the oil producing states, owe both the state and local government workers salaries due to the economic meltdown that surfaced in the last phase of the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. In Kwara, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has been paying the state workers promptly and showing readiness to come to local government cum SUBEB workers’ rescue though.
The government has also succeeded in the rehabilitation of roads across the state, and community development projects as the construction of Osi and Ilesha Baruba campuses of Kwara State University have begun.
Kwara surely has lots of achievements to show for her golden jubilee and it calls for an elaborate celebration but Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, in his wisdom, as a man who is sensitive to the economic situation of the country, pronounced a low key celebration.
It is cristal clear that despite the baseless criticisms, distortion of facts and fabricated tales stacked towards the administration of Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state by those who are sworn enemies of the winning political dynasty in Kwara, Kwara is working and Kwara is moving forward. I, as a proud Kwaran, also join millions of well wishers in wishing Kwara state happy 50th anniversary.
