Stakeholders, including legislators, civil servants, public servants and captains of industries, have been urged to team up with Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to bring to fruition his economic and developmental agenda for the state.
A media guru and fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Alh. Saadu Salahu made the appeal in a paper he presented at a forum organised by The Media Town Hall, held in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The theme of Salahu’s lecture was entitled” Kwara Development: The Role of Stakeholders”.
The guest speaker who noted that the state which was created in 1967 had two development plans in 1970 and 1980, lamented that the previous administrations in the state from 1980 to 2019 did not churned out any development road map for the state.
“However, it is sad and highly regrettable that for close to four decades, 1980 to 2019 when Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq emerged as the democratically elected governor of the state, Kwara with all its huge resources groped in darkness without any development plan and vision by each of the successive governments both military and civilians. We lost many of the state enterprises and companies including Trade Bank, Shonga farms and billions naira worth of investments in Kaduna , Abuja , Lagos and parts of the country,” he stated.
He expressed delight that Governor AbdulRazaq’s ” leadership initiatives and visions are contained in a well articulated 436 – page Kwara State Economic Development Plan.
“The State plan aligns with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, UNDP, Africa Union and several International and development partners,” he added.
Salahu further said the highlights of AbdulRazaq’s administration 10- year development plan included its background and rational, governance and institution strengthening, macro-economic outlook and fiscal policy directions, agricultural, rural development and poverty reduction.
“Others are education and health sector development, youth, sports and social welfare, land titling and administration, inclusive and affordable housing, functional water, sanitation and hygiene.
“It also speaks to affordable and reliable electricity, efficient transportation and regional integration, information and communication technology.
Critical social service infrastructures, sustainable environment, domesticating the SDGs, results monitoring, evaluation and reporting and snapshots of the indicative financing requirements for the plan are all included.”
He added: ” Examined against the context of the 17 MDGs, it becomes clearer that Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq 10 years development plan (2021-2030) aligns with the UN SDGs lasting 2030.”
The guest speaker posited that a critical examination of Governor AbdulRazaq ‘s leadership vision, policy agenda and implementation has put Kwara on the global map as one of the best governed states in Africa in the past four years.
