NIGERIA, ONLY COUNTRY WITHOUT STABLE POWER SUPPLY -GOV. AHMED

Gov. Abdufatah Ahmed
Governor Abdufatah Ahmed of Kwara State has said that Nigeria is the only country in the world without stable electricity supply. He spoke at the Special Business Luncheon, organised by the Kwara Professionals Lagos (KPL), where he was conferred with the Distinguished Professional Award, in recognition of his contribution to agricultural development in the state:

'Without electricity businesses die. Even in The Gambia that is half the size of Kwara State has electricity. Even if these countries have problem, it is certainly not electricity. 'The people must know what government is doing with their resources, that is why government must meet with the people from time to time. That is what we have done today. Today, it is Civic Centre (Victoria Island, Lagos), tomorrow it might be Ijora, Badia. We are bringing government to the people.

'We have a team of media men who reports to the people on a daily basis through newspapers, radio, television and on the Internet. Even our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora are not left out. Kwara has come to recognise the need to move forward despite its limited resources.

'The health sector has been broken down into three levels, namely; primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary level is to ensure that every local government has at least one general hospital. Those that are in existence, we are already turning around. We are taking five hospitals at a time and when we finish, we move to the next five until we go round all the local governments. We are also working on quality assurance, where you have quality doctors and nurses and adequate drugs.

'We are going to give roads priority.
The choice of each road we agree to do must have economic impact on the state. Our farmers must be able to access these roads so that they can get their produce to the market on time and at low cost.'A lot of things we see that are not moving today in Nigeria is because of lack of structural policy. But for us in Kwara, we cannot afford to wait. Government must realise that it has to create an enabling environment for things to move forward. We are resuscitating three technical colleges in Patigi, Erin-Ile and Ilorin.

'We have also instituted the first international youth empowerment scheme. The institute will be established in Ajasse-Ipo, to train high-level quality technical personnel not only for the industrial sector in the state but the international community as well. The module was what took us to the United States. We would continue to run the state under a transparent government.' In his goodwill message, the first governor of the old Kwara State, Brig. Gen. David Bamigboye (rtd), called for support for the Ahmed administration in moving the state forward. He said he was impressed with the governor's continuity programmes.

Chairman and chief executive of Doyin Group of Companies, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, said more should be done in the industrial sector to boost the economy further. For Dr. Oyin Jolayomi, he enjoined all to embrace peace and unity irrespective of one's religious beliefs, as he advised all present not to allow religious difference to tear the country apart.

Chairman of KPL, Prince Victor Kolade, said it was a great honour to play host to the governor, whose presence clearly shows his love and respect for the people he swore to serve. He said the KPL decided to meet with Ahmed to look at areas they could both join hands in moving the state forward.

He harped on the area of rich deposits of solid minerals, where he said the group felt the state government could exploit to form the base for industrial development for the growth of the state: 'Also, the huge tourism potentials of the state are not in question and it is our prayer that the right investors be diligently sought for a private - public sector venture.' He said the group is ready to serve in areas that will take the state to the next level.

The state government also presented its new housing scheme project of about 750 hectres of government-reserved areas. It said the concept is to provide a conducive living environment for the people. Government has already paid over N100 million as compensation, with three different contractors already working on site. The 416 plots of land are accessible by road and electrification is on-going.

Some, who spoke at the event, applauded the state government for a job well done, but called for more emphasis to be placed on education and security