By Ahmed Ajikobi
The coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) youth group, Kwara North has tasked the Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on equitable sharing of the 7.1 billion UBEC grants.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Adam Abdullahi, Edu Local Government; Comrade Ibrahim Dauda Kpoatuwa of Patigi Local Government, Comrade Yahya Olarewaju Saka of Moro Local Government, Comrade Salihu Ismail of Baruten Local Government and Comrade Adamu Abdullahi of Kaiama Local Government.
They urged the Governor to intensify efforts in governance in the interest of the development of the state.
The statement reads in part, “Governor should spread the dividends of democracy across the state with justice, equity and fairness in the distribution of the UBEC project using indigenous contractors across Local Government Areas and wards respectively.
“We have observed the skewed nature in the activities of the Kwara State Government, in the past one and a half year on its infrastructural development programmes which must be improved in fairness and justice.
“Sadly, various wards and LG are not being carried along in the execution of the projects and we see this as wrong and unacceptable.
“Section 14(4) of the Constitution provides that the conduct of affairs of a State Government or any of the agencies of the Government shall be carried out in such a manner as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples.
“For example, Late Gov. Lawal did not only spread the Primary Health Care (PHC) centres across the State but also ensured that the PHC works were also given to contractors from each ward, he mobilised them and supported them to do the jobs. This boosted the local economies of all the wards and created ownership of the projects.
“The recent contract awards by this government cannot be said to be economically inclusive and therefore, not tolerable. Henceforth, we expect a higher level of inclusiveness and transparency, especially with the UBEC funds, which are specifically meant for schools.
“The projects from the #7.1bn UBEC grant should be shared in a manner that is just, equitable and inclusive as suggested here: Central senatorial zone #3bn, North #2.1bn, South #2bn.
“This is because there are schools in all wards and we also have skilled artisans who actually built and furnished the schools ab initio.
“Local contractors should therefore be empowered and the engineers in the community should be engaged to supervise the jobs to ensure that they are done according to standards.
“This suggestion will assist in the attainment of our multiple goals of economic empowerment, inclusiveness, employment creation, community ownership, transparency, justice, equity and peace,” the group further stated.
