‘I’m Interested In Building Legacy, Not Dynasty’, Says Governor AbdulRazaq

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has told stalwarts and stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he was not interested in building a dynasty.

AbdulRazaq said he was just interested in building a legacy of leaving the state far far better than he met it.

The governor stated this in Ilorin, the state capital during an end-of-the-year luncheon with the state APC stakeholders.

“I am just interested in building a legacy of leaving this state far more than I met it, a legacy of a state that is viable. I am not interested in building a dynasty, and I urge that we work together for a greater state,” he said.

AbdulRazaq also gave insights into the successes and the challenges of his admistration, reassuring the people of the government’s commitment to rid the state of kidnappers and terrorists.

He also acknowledged the support of President Bola Tinubu whose economic policies the Governor said has freed up resources with which the government was able to expand infrastructure at various layers.

Commissioner for Works, Engr. Abdulquawiy Olododo, said official records showed that the AbdulRazaq administration now has more completed, ongoing, or facilitated (tax credit) road projects than the three previous administrations since 1999 combined.

He said the administration has completed 302.4kms of roads between 2019 and now, has 275.25km ongoing, including the 209.7km under RAAMP, along with the 294km tax credit road — totaling 871.65km of roads.

For his part, the Commissioner for Finance, Dr Hauwa Nuhu said the government has also implemented two minimum wages and paid more counterpart funds than any previous administrations, restating the commitment of the Governor to the wellbeing of Kwarans, including civil servants.

She said the administration has grown the state’s internal revenue from N30.6bn in 2019 to N87.1bn as at Dec 19, 2025 — more than 100 per cent growth in six years.

The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, who detailed the trajectory of school infrastructure and other efforts of the government, said the AbdulRazaq administration has hired more than 8,000 teachers, constructed more than 2,000 classrooms, and bridged gaps in staff welfare, including fixing promotion arrears since 2016 to date.

A presentation on the urban renewal initiative and the Kwara Smart City added vistas to the event as Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Segun Ogunsola explained the vision and the steps so far taken, including the construction work on the Kwara State University of Education.

The Senator representing Kwara Central, Salihu Mustapha said, “With these achievements that we have seen here today, I think it’s a thing of joy that it is in our lifetime that we have a Governor who, in his quiet moment, has been able to achieve this. If anybody has told us that the state has progressed to this level, we will not believe it but we have seen it first hand.”

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, said the governor has done very well, calling on critics to be fair in pointing out areas they want improvements on as no system is ever perfect.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Engr Salihu Yakubu-Danladi said the lawmakers have always been convinced that the governor is a superlative achiever whose footprints exist everywhere in the state.

The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Alh Lanre Issa-Onilu, said with the catalogue of sectoral achievements projected at the event, Governor AbdulRazaq has performed beyond his initial estimation.

He enjoined AbdulRazaq to focus more sustaining some of his legacy projects, including the iconic Garment Factory, Innovation Hub, and the Kwara Smart City.

The Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Abdullateef Shittu, commended the Governor’s style of leadership, both as NGF chairman and as governor of the state.

He described AbdulRazaq as a calm leader who is calm but firm, consultative but decisive, and one who is grounded in institutional respect.

The state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Abdullahi Abubakar Danladi, said no single political ward in the state has not benefitted one form of capital project or the other, adding that the impacts are already being felt.