The Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed dissatisfaction over Kwara’s exclusion from the federal government’s plan to subsidize travel expenses for roughly 22 states over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The PDP expressed regret in a statement released on Saturday by Olusegun Adewara, its state publicity secretary, that Kwara is noticeably missing from the program that could have helped the state’s citizens nationwide, despite Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s dual roles as the current Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress-led government.
“As a party, we join the people of Kwara in questioning the concrete benefits Kwarans have received from Governor Abdulrazaq’s leadership of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, especially in light of the fact that it seems he finds it difficult to effectively represent his constituents’ interests during Federal Executive Council decision-making processes,” the party declared.
The party questioned, “Could the Kwara State Government not extend internal assistance to those arriving from various parts of the country, especially given the substantial financial influx into the state recently, even if the Federal Government has not shown significant concern for the welfare of our people at this time?”
Like his counterparts in other states, Governor Abdulrahman recently received another N9 billion intervention from the federal government. What’s wrong with allocating a portion of this fund as a subsidy to help Kwarans who are returning home to celebrate the holiday season?
This begs important questions regarding the governor’s dedication to furthering Kwara people’s interests or if his political ascent is solely motivated by self-interest.
We further demand an explanation from Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for his inability to give all Kwara workers the startling N10,000 palliatives that he had earlier promised, particularly in light of the fact that other states are paying their employees N25,000, N35,000, and N100,000 in addition to a 13-month wage. For the benefit of the populace, Governor Abdulrahman serves as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum; however, he falls short of the expectations of his Kwara-born people.
“We remember when PDP leader in Kwara, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, served as Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and put Kwara’s interests first. Under his direction, the Nigeria Integrated Power Project had a major impact on the state, resulting in the installation of over 875 power transformers throughout Kwara State and 15 MVA power substations that linked over 375 remote settlements to the national grid.
