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Tag: AbdulRazaq

  • Ile Arugbo: Buhari wades into Kwara gov, Saraki face off

    Ile Arugbo: Buhari wades into Kwara gov, Saraki face off

    President Muhammadu Buhari has waded into the feud between Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and former Senate President Bukola Saraki over the recent demolition of Ile Arugbo (old people’s home) in Ilorin, the state capital, it was learnt yesterday.

    According to insider sources, the President has set up a private investigative committee to examine the circumstances that warranted the demolition and report to him.

    According to the source, President Buhari expressed concern about the crisis, which has dominated the media in the last two weeks.

    The former Senate President and his younger sister, Gbemi Saraki, who is the Minister of State for Transportation, had chided Governor AbdulRazaq for the demolition.

    The Sarakis said it was an affront on the memory of their father, Second Republic Senate President Olusola Saraki.

    But, the state government refuted the allegation, saying the land, which belonged to the state, was illegally transferred to the late politician by the Bukola Saraki administration.

    The state government explained that the demolished structures were not meant for residence but a piece of land brought from an Ilorin family for a proposed state secretariat extension by the defunct military administration of Brig-Gen. David Bamigboye.

    President Buhari’s intervention was premised on his concern for peace, unity and justice in Kwara, where power shifted from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s governorship election.

    Although the source said the President had notified the governor about the private committee, he could not ascertain if he had also informed Bukola Saraki.

    “I suspect that the President wants to foster cohesion in the party and government by setting up the panel. I suspect that he had taken note of the reaction of his minister, Gbemi Saraki, who complained that the governor did not inform her before the demolition, despite being in the same party and government with him. I am sure the President wants peace in Kwara.”

    Meanwhile, the PDP Stakeholders’ Forum in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State yesterday urged Governor AbdulRazaq and former Senate President Saraki to sheathe their swords over the old people’s home.

    The politicians advised the two eminent Kwara personalities to avoid escalation of the dispute trailing the demolition of the building.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Chairman of the forum, Alhaji Abdukjlkadir Oba Ajara, appealed to Governor AbdulRazaq to toe the path of peace.

    He was accompanied by the party’s chairman in the area, Alhaji Baba Akota, and other PDP chieftains in the area.

    “Our appeal is to the two combatants, who are from Ilorin West Local Government Area, to sheathe their swords. Ilorin West is a prime local government in the state. If it goes haywire, it will reverberate throughout the remaining 15 local government areas.

    “I urge our people not to allow self-centred people to turn our state into the centre of violence. We all know what happened in Kogi State. We should maintain decorum. We should not be causing trouble…

    “We don’t want Ilorin West to set Kwara ablaze. So, we call on Governor AbdulRazaq to take charge to ensure peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship in all parts of the state,” Ajara said.

    Another group, Kwara Elders of Thought, expressed support for Governor AbdulRazaq for approving the revocation of a piece of land, which hosted the old people’s home.

    In a statement yesterday in Ilorin by its Chairman and Secretary, Alhaji Baba Olosasa and Zakary Abdulkareem, the group hailed the governor for taking the action.

    “We enjoin His Excellency to rest assured that the progressive-minded Kwarans who championed the O To Ge! (Enough is Enough) campaign in 2018-2019 are solidly behind him in his effort to move Kwara State and Kwarans out of bondage and slavery.

    “We also urge the governor to take urgent steps to recover about 90 other properties so far identified to have been dubiously acquired by officials of the immediate past government…”

    “We have followed the arguments of the parties concerned, and have gathered adequate information on the Ile Arugbo recovery process.

    “We also investigated the parties’ claims and counter-claims, and are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the Kwara State government, under the leadership of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, had taken the right decision by recovering the property that rightly belongs to the government and people of Kwara State,” it said.

  • Saraki’s land revocation: Don’t trade your goodwill with ‘unnecessary distractions’, Aremu warns Kwara gov

    Saraki’s land revocation: Don’t trade your goodwill with ‘unnecessary distractions’, Aremu warns Kwara gov

    Member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Issa Aremu, has urged Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to have a rethink on his reported revocation plan of a portion of land belonging to the late politician, Dr. Olusola Saraki

    The state government had last week said the land in question was originally meant for government secretariat and parking space of the Civil Service Clinic but “was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited, without any record of payment to the state government,” adding: “No certificate of occupancy was ever issued in favour of the firm.”

    Aremu observed that the land revocation might constitute “unnecessary distraction” for Governor Abdulrazaq’s administration, which he said had commendably hit the ground running in terms of executing programmes and projects that have direct positive impact on the lives of Kwarans.

    According to the labour leader, the revocation of land belonging to the late Olusola Saraki was “an unnecessary and avoidable blunt on the good developmental news from the state” adding that the governor should remain focused and avoid distractions.

    Aremu urged the governor to combine what he called “his acknowledged humility, simplicity and modesty with forgiveness and reconciliation in governance”.

    Aremu recalled that it was an unprecedented bipartisan popular mobilisation, which terminated 16 years of PDP rule in Kwara State during the 2019 election, adding that the government should avoid the temptation of “governance by conflict of personalities and old scores,” which he claimed had bedeviled a number of states.

    But in its reaction, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the revocation of the land as a further demonstration of Governor Abdulrazaq’s vindictiveness and vendetta mission against the Saraki family.

    PDP Chairman in the state, Hon Kola Shittu, noted that the action of the governor did not in anyway reflect the interest of Kwarans, adding that such move was capable of creating rivalry and crisis among people of Ilorin in particular and the state in general.

    “The Kwara PDP maintains that there is no basis or justification for the Kwara State Government to revoke the land, which was duly acquired many years ago by the late Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki. This is a great error on the part of Governor Abdulrazaq and greater disservice to the memory of Baba Oloye who during his lifetime made sacrifices and contributions to the development of not only Ilorin Emirate but Kwara as a whole and even beyond.”

    “As it is well known to the members of the public, the landed property houses the popular Ile-Arugbo, where aged people used to converge to receive food, financial support and healthcare services sponsored by the late politician and philantropist; a tradition that has remained unbroken years after Baba’s demise as it has been sustained by his son, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki CON.

    “The widespread condemnation that has greeted the revocation of the property is a clear indication that the Governor’s move is not in tandem with the interest of the people of Kwara. He is, therefore, advised to listen to voice of reason and have a rethink.”

  • JUST IN: AbulRazak appoints 26-year-old serving corps member Commissioner

    JUST IN: AbulRazak appoints 26-year-old serving corps member Commissioner

    Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has appointed a serving 26-year-old female Youth Corps member, Miss Joana Nnazua Kolo as a commissioner.

    She was among the four female commissioner-nominees whose names were forwarded to the Kwara State House of Assembly on Tuesday.

    Kolo, the youngest commissioner-nominee in the state’s history, is a 2018 graduate of Library Science from the Kwara State University (KWASU). A grassroots mobiliser, Kolo is an ardent advocate of community development.

    If confirmed, she would be Nigeria’s youngest commissioner, taking the trophy from Oyo State’s 27-year-old Oluwaseun Fakorede.

    Kolo is still having her National Youths Service Corps programme in Jigawa, where she is teaching at Model Boarding Junior Secondary School Guri.

    Her screening for the cabinet seat would hold after she rounds off her NYSC service in the next two weeks. She is from Edu Local Government area of the state.

    AbdulRazaq has also nominated a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the FBN Mortgages Limited, a subsidiary of the First Bank, Mrs. Folashade Omoniyi, as the new Chairperson of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS). She would succeed Prof Murtala Awodun whose tenure expires soon.

    Omoniyi, who holds a bachelor of engineering from the University of Ilorin and Masters of Business Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University, has many years of leadership experience in the banking sector, marketing, information communication technology, and business management.

    She has executive education in positive leadership from Michigan Ross Executive Education (USA); Market Driving Strategies from London Business School (UK); Strategic Uses of Information Technology from Stanford Business School ( USA); and Senior Management Programme (SMP18) from the Lagos Business School (Nigeria).

    Omoniyi is from Irepodun local government area of the state.

    The three other nominees are professionals and grassroots politicians: Mrs Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu; Arinola Fatimoh Lawal; and Aisha Ahman Pategi.

    The names of the nominees have been forwarded to the House and the letter was read at Tuesday’s plenary by the Speaker, Rt. Honourable Salihu Yakubu Danladi.

    A 1997 graduate of Economics from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Mrs Modibbo-Kawu also holds Masters in Business Administration from University of Ilorin and various certificates from Penn Foster Career School Scranton in the United States and Metropolitan School of Business and Management in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A member of several professional bodies like the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria and Nigeria Institute of Management, she is a co-founder of a number of schools and learning centres.

    She is married to the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Ishaq Modibbo-Kawu and would be representing Ilorin South in the cabinet if her nomination scales through the House of Assembly.

    Arinola Fatimoh Lawal, a 1993 graduate of Catering and Hotel Management from the Kwara State Polytechnic, is a top-rated player in Nigeria’s hospitality industry with experience as chief executive officers of several firms, including Batool Nigeria Limited, Mohbalamira Nigeria Limited and MirMira Enterprise.

    Hajia Lawal, who was a member of the Kwara State Transition Committee in 2019, is a daughter of former Kwara State Governor Mohammed Lawal from Ilorin East local government.

    Her skills cover project management, tourism and hospitality, change management, and Risk Management. A grassroots mobiliser with effective leadership skills and emotional intelligence, the nominee is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State.

    A scion of one of Kwara’s oldest political families, nominee Aisha Ahman-Pategi is a professional business manager with over 20 years experience in communication strategy, investment/financial consulting, and marketing and motivational leadership. She is a serial entrepreneur known for a contagious passion for excellence and innovation with great resource skills in research, government and relations.

    Ms Ahman-Pategi was educated at the School of Remedial Studies and FASS-International Relations in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State in 1996; Agent and Broker License Barney Fletcher School, in Atlanta GA, USA in 2004; Capstone Institute of Mortgage Finance, also in Atlanta in 2006; Stanford University, Stanford California where she obtained a certificate in Political Science (Data Analysis) in 2013; Bachelor of Art – Mass Communication from Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma; and MBA Business Administration from American Inter-Continental University, Dunwoody GA.

    Aisha was Sales Manager for J&S Auto Sales Decatur, GA 30082 before founding A-Line Realty SMYRNA, GA 30082 in 2004 as the President and Managing Broker. The agency serves more than 300 clients by providing financial planning, assets management, commercial and residential estate transactions.

    Between 2005 and 2007, she joined Continental Mortgage/World Financial Services Inc., Atlanta, GA 30324 as Financial Advisor/Mortgage consultant where she assisted clients with their needs via financial need analysis.

    Aisha, a former Senior Special Assistant to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Strategy and Communication, has also worked for the non-profit Project Coach Foundation since 2018 as executive director.

    The non-profit organisation serves the most vulnerable communities in Nigeria through Community Outreach, Advocacy, Capacity building and Health (COACH) projects.

  • Kwara gov, Abdulrazaq apologises to pupils over poor condition of school

    Kwara gov, Abdulrazaq apologises to pupils over poor condition of school

    The Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has apologised to pupils of School for Special Needs in Ilorin over the poor condition of the school.
    A statement issued by Media Aide to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye on Saturday in Ilorin, said Abdulrazaq gave the apology when he visited the school.
    The governor who expressed displeasure at the poor facilities at the school said “now that I have seen things for myself, I know the depth of the problem we have in this sector and we will be responsible in allocating scarce resources.
    “We will come back here to ensure that basic standards are met. The truth is that basic needs are not met and it is a shame.
    “As a government, we want to apologise for living in this kind of condition and we will make sure that minimum standards are met,’’ the governor said.
    Abdulrazaq directed the Permanent Secretary, Kwara State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Mariam Garuba to urgently submit a recommendation to the government on what the school needs to give the children a good head start in life.
    He also commended the pupils and teachers of the school for their resilience and commitment.
    Also speaking, Aroyehun Faoziyah, principal of the school said they lacked basic amenities to take care of the children, including modern infrastructure as the classrooms were totally dilapidated.
    She said that the school’s clinic was without essential drugs to treat sick pupils.

  • Kwara: Gov AbdulRazaq releases N20m to fix township roads

    Kwara: Gov AbdulRazaq releases N20m to fix township roads

    Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency (KWARMA) has begun massive rehabilitation of 10 roads across Ilorin, the state capital, including the long-neglected Offa Garage Roundabout Road.
    This followed the release of N20m by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for immediate rehabilitation of roads that are in bad state and needed urgent fixing in the capital city.
    Engineer Usman Baba Jibril, general manager of KWARMA, said it has already started massive rehabilitation works on the Offa Garage and Geri Alimi-Asa Dam roads.
    He said the agency has the mandate to quickly fix the roads to end the nightmares of the people.
    “We have started work immediately based on the fund the Governor has just released to KWARMA and Kwara State Asphalt Plant,” Jibril said.
    He listed other roads to be covered “under Phase 1” to include Isale Aluko-Kokorokan-Ita Kudimoh Road; Adeta-Al-Hikmah road; Olorunshogo-Geri Alimi road; Kaduna Road, Adewole; Osere-Cemetry road; General Hospital- Geri Alimi; Offa Garage Geri Alimi Road; and Sani Okin Road.
    Jibril said they have a mandate to complete the rehabilitation within the next seven days, with the phase two of the works likely to begin very soon.
    AbdulRazaq had said last week that he would embark on rehabilitation of roads within the metropolis and other parts of the state in phases
    He lamented the poor state of the roads across the state, adding that the government would collaborae with the Federal Government and private sectors on some of the roads, especially federal roads.
    This followed the release of N20m by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for immediate rehabilitation of roads that are in bad state and needed urgent fixing in the capital city.
    Engineer Usman Baba Jibril, general manager of KWARMA, said it has already started massive rehabilitation works on the Offa Garage and Geri Alimi-Asa Dam roads.
    He said the agency has the mandate to quickly fix the roads to end the nightmares of the people.
    “We have started work immediately based on the fund the Governor has just released to KWARMA and Kwara State Asphalt Plant,” Jibril said.
    He listed other roads to be covered “under Phase 1” to include Isale Aluko-Kokorokan-Ita Kudimoh Road; Adeta-Al-Hikmah road; Olorunshogo-Geri Alimi road; Kaduna Road, Adewole; Osere-Cemetry road; General Hospital- Geri Alimi; Offa Garage Geri Alimi Road; and Sani Okin Road.
    Jibril said they have a mandate to complete the rehabilitation within the next seven days, with the phase two of the works likely to begin very soon.
    AbdulRazaq had said last week that he would embark on rehabilitation of roads within the metropolis and other parts of the state in phases
    He lamented the poor state of the roads across the state, adding that the government would collaborae with the Federal Government and private sectors on some of the roads, especially federal roads.