• party flaunts achievements as administration marks 5th anniversary
• commends President Tinubu

Kwara State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday flaunted the “remarkable achievements” of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in the last years, saying the party is proud of his investments in critical sectors of the economy.

The party also commended the Governor for his good and peaceful politics, respect and support for traditional and religious institutions, and for helping to stem the tide of political thuggery in the state.

“We are proud to say the new mandate given to our party across the lines is being justified, as it is evident in the avalanche of superlative programmes and projects dotting every corner of Kwara today,” State Chairman of APC Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi said at the Media Engagement on the 5th anniversary of the AbdulRazaq-led APC administration in the state.

“We are delighted that his dream for urban renewal and economic expansion is now being seen in the Tanke and Unity flyovers, Wahab Folawiyo road, Ahmadu Bello way, Ilorin Innovation Hub, Garment Factory, Shea butter factory, industrial park, agroprocessing and other agricultural programmes to support food security, International Conference Centre, Visual Arts Centre, Sugar Film Factory, transformative education projects and programmes, numerous completed and ongoing urban and rural road projects spanning thousands of kilometers across the state, among others as our deserved reality.”

Fagbemi noted that history will remember AbdulRazaq as a transformational leader who rose above personal and partisan interests to take bold decisions and pushed through progressive agenda for the growth and development of the state.

“In decades to come, Kwarans will remember Governor AbdulRazaq as a leader who restored the glory of the past, gave workers their due at the right time, catered for the weak and vulnerable segments of the society, empowered women and the youths, worked to keep the gains of today and prepared for the future,” he said.

“You may recall the launching of Ilorin City MasterPlan two years ago. The groundbreaking of the 25,000 hectares Ilorin Smart City is near, promising a new chapter in the history of the state. It is a fulfilment of the promise of our party for sustainable development and reducing housing deficits by providing a platform for public and private sector collaboration for a mix of affordable and luxury housing scheme for the citizens.”

The APC chairman also thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for continued support and collaboration with the Kwara State Government to ensure that the administration delivers on its promises of improved quality of life, inclusive growth, and sustainable development to the people.

“Owing to the efforts of our working Governor, Kwara has also recorded massive infrastructural gains from the APC-led federal government. The state has since got approval for the construction of four major roads under the Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme. The roads include Kosubosu–Kaiama–Bode Saadu (128km); Bacita-Shonga-Lafiagi (74.3km); Eiyenkorin–Afon–Offa–Odo Otin (42.5km); and Okuta–Bokuro (37km). Similarly, Kishi Kaiama Tese Road has recently been approved for construction by the Federal Executive Council,” according to the party chairman.

“We are also proud of all our elected and appointed representatives at all levels for their efforts to bring democratic dividends to our people. We thank them for working with our hard working Governor who is the leader of our team. We urge them to keep it up and to do a lot more to complement what the Governor is doing.”

Fagbemi also appreciated members and leaders of the party across every community in Kwara State, particularly members of the State Working Committee for the wonderful job that they do and their support for the state government under the Governor and for the Federal Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He added: “In the last elections, Kwarans resolved to reward the remarkable performance of the Governor with a new mandate to ensure the continuity of inclusive governance and sustainable development for the people and state as was witnessed in the first four years. Our party also won the presidential election, including the 3 senatorial seats, six House of Representatives, and all the 24 seats in the State Assembly.

“Our party has won 100% in our elections not because we are perfect. We won all our elections because we are obviously pro-masses, we develop every part of the state, we are responsive to the yearnings of the people, and we empathize with the people within the resources available to the state. Even at that, our party has been conscious of the need to create a balance between creating economic opportunities for the people and allowing activities and unregulated growth that may jeopardize urban planning and development and ultimately hurt the people in different ways, including security breaches.

“We are proud to say the new mandate given to our party across the lines is being justified, as it is evident in the avalanche of superlative programmes and projects dotting every corner of Kwara today.

“Kwara’s basic education has continued its rise from the ashes to the zenith of excellence. Aided by our flagship educational policy KwaraLEARN, our schoolchildren have won national laurels and represented Nigeria at a global competition for the second time running. It underscores the significant progress we are recording in the basic education sector in our state.

“In the last year, AbdulRazaq laid a solid foundation to make Kwara a major medical hub in Nigeria. First, he facilitated the construction of the first cancer treatment centre in the whole of North Central Nigeria funded by AbdulSamad Rabiu Foundation, and then got federal government to approve a comprehensive upgrade of the Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre. Similarly, groundwork for establishment of the Kwara State Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH) has commenced as a Bill for the establishment is now ready for public hearing at the House. Upon completion, the teaching hospital will support the training of medical students and related professionals, boost manpower, and extend the frontier of healthcare delivery to save the lives of women, children, and elderly in Kwara and surrounding states. In the whole of North Central, our state has the gold medal in the access to basic health care while the government continues to invest to keep our professionals and provide more equipment to beat the current standard.

“Under the AbdulRazaq-led administration rural-urban development drive, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and interlocking of 71 new road projects were recently approved across the state. Earlier, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and interlocking of 75 road projects were completed in the last one year.”

On the sport sector, Fagbemi said the Governor has taken commendable steps to preserve the legacies of founding fathers and mothers across different sectors as Kwara State Stadium Complex Ilorin is undergoing a facelift to elevate its status and aesthetics under the AbdulRazaq-led administration.

“The construction of a world-class table tennis arena is ongoing as well as renovation of the Indoor Sports Hall to aid the grooming of young talents and ensure our state remains on the map as home of champions in sports,” Fagbemi said.

“This is the first time that the indoor sports hall is being done in this manner since 1991.

“To improve access to clean and safe water, the Governor recently constructed a new waterworks at Jebba, ending decades of lack in the kingdom. Rehabilitation works have also been completed on several waterworks across the state in the last one year.”

Confusion trails Adamawa State Governorship supplementary election as Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari assumes the role of Returning Officer to announce Aishatu Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress, the APC winner.

There is tension at the INEC state collation centre in Yola where the final collation of results from last Saturday’s supplementary governorship election was expected to be concluded on Sunday morning

The Resident Electoral Commissioner Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who had been reportedly asked to step aside due to controversies that trailed his conduct in the March 18 election, suddenly turned up at the collation centre on Sunday morning at about 9 am to announce APC’s Aishatu Ahmed Binani as winner.

The INEC Returning Officer for the election is Professor Mohammed Mele who was in charge of the process of collation at the conclusion of the supplementary election on Saturday, along with two supervising INEC National Commissioners

Only results from supplementary elections in 10 local government areas were announced before the exercise was adjourned at about 1 am on Sunday by the Returning Officer to resume again by 11 am.

However, by the time journalists arrived at the state collation centre, they were informed that the REC had come at about 9 am to announce a winner, amid protests by party agents who challenged his powers to usurp the position of the Returning Officer.

As of the time of filing this report, the Returning Officer Professor Mohammed Mele and the two supervising National Commissioners are yet to arrive at the Collation Centre and could not be reached.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up as tension is already high in the area.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has suspended the collation of results in Adamawa State Governorship supplementary election till further notice. This follows interference with the process by the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

INEC in a statement by the National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye says the action of the REC, Hudu Yunusa-Ari to announce Aishatu Ahmed Binani of APC winner of Governorship election is “usurpation of the power of the Returning Officer”. The statement, therefore, declares the purported announcement of a winner in the election “null, void and of no effect”

INEC confirms that the collation of results from the Adamawa State Governorship supplementary election had “clearly not been concluded” when the REC purportedly declared one of the candidate’s winners.

The Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari has been invited to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja immediately.

There was confusion after the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari assumed the role of the Returning Officer to announce Aishatu Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress, APC winner of the election.

Yunusa-Ari, who had been reportedly asked to step aside as Resident Electoral Commissioner due to controversies that trailed his conduct in the March 18 election, suddenly turned up at the collation centre on Sunday morning at about 9 am to announce APC’s Aishatu Ahmed Binani as winner

The INEC Returning Officer for the election is Professor Mohammed Mele who was in charge of the process of collation at the conclusion of the supplementary election on Saturday, along with two supervising INEC National Commissioners

Only results from supplementary elections in 10 local government areas were announced before the exercise was adjourned at about 1 am on Sunday by the Returning Officer to resume again by 11 am.

However, by the time journalists arrived at the state collation centre, they were informed that the REC had come at about 9 am to announce a winner, amid protests by party agents who challenged his powers to usurp the position of the Returning Officer.

As of the time of filing this report, the Returning Officer Professor Mohammed Mele and the two supervising National Commissioners are yet to arrive at the Collation Centre and could not be reached.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up as tension is already high in the area.