By Kayode Adeoti
The race for the 2019 governorship race in Kwara State has continued to gather momentum with aspirants in the two major parties; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) politicking and lobbying to emerge flagbearer at the forthcoming parties’ primaries.
The political scene in the state has witnessed upscale of activities with aspirants making official declaration and consultations with stakeholders lately.
In like manner, a former Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Ladi Hassan officially declared his intention to contest the governorship election in the state on the platform of PDP.
The well attended event was held on Saturday 25th August, 2018 at the Magaji Ngeri constituency in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state.
The uniqueness of the event was the huge population characterized by grassroots politicians and the less privileged who were there to identify with the governorship hopeful widely described as a ‘man of the masses.’
In his declaration speech, the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Abuja clearly stated that he would hinge governance on poverty alleviation programmes and welfare of the masses.
This he re-echoed at a press conference held at the Olusola Saraki Foundation house in Ilorin, yesterday.
Hassan, who stressed that his government will be people-oriented, added that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the downtrodden get fair share of dividends of democracy.
Reeling out his plans, the guber aspirant who said he has knowledge of the challenges confronting the state and undermining its development, assured that he would tackle the problems headlong through various policies and programmes, if elected into power come 2019.
The former Chief of Staff, who noted that the major problem in the country is poverty and hunger, vowed to eradicate the menace in Kwara.
“The problem of Kwara State is hunger, it is killing people. By the grace of God, this area will be given utmost priority,” Hassan said.
Towards this end, he stressed that agriculture will be a major tool to fight poverty and hunger, adding that farmers would be adequately empowered for productivity.
The governorship aspirant, whose slogan is ‘Kwara say no to poverty,’ said “I will make farms tools available to farmers just to ease food productions and ensure food sufficiency.”
Another area of focus for the banker turned politician is commerce, saying that he would ensure development of the Small and Medium Enterprises, which according to him drives the economy of the state.
Education being the bedrock of development of any society, he said youths will be encouraged to embrace literacy while infrastructural development in the sector will be an area of concern.
Hassan, however, stated that he is the most experience aspirant hence the need for him to be given a chance to bring to bear his wealth of experience in administration towards taking Kwara to higher pedestal.
“I am the best to paddle the ship of the state to higher ground considering my wealth of experience in Kwara politics and educational qualifications. I have worked in the private and public sectors; I’ve garnered experience over the years even in the politics. “Time has come to take over the responsibility of Kwara State. To run this government, we need someone who is close to the people, I was born in Ilorin and I also went to school in the state. With my closeness with the grassroots, I know the problems of Kwara State, and I have the blueprint on how to tackle the problems confronting them. I have all classes of friends; carpenters, bricklayers, and the downtrodden,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, in continuation of his consultative tour of local governments, Hassan yesterday Hassan met stakeholders in Ifelodun and Isin Local Governments Areas of the state.
At Isin Local Government, former Deputy Governor of the state, Chief Ogundeji testified to the sterling and leadership qualities of the governorship aspirant having worked with him for 8years, adding that he is an embodiment of humility and efficiency.
