By Olatunde Rufai
The campaign spokesperson of the All Progressive Congress in Kwara state, who also doubles as the State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Oyeyemi Florence has come out to speak on the efforts made so far by the current administration in the State under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in ensuring all projects embarked upon to not just be for a short-term existence but will run for generations unborn to benefit from.
Mrs. Oyeyemi, made this assertion during a media parley with journalists on Thursday, in Ilorin, the State capital.
She emphasized on the need for policies and physical projects to have a deliberate system to run them, even after the initiators or the government which built them might have long left the office.
She added that the current administration understands the importance of feedback in a democracy and have decided to host the media parley to interact and get feedback on their activities, policies and achievements in office and to further seek support in the coverage of their re-election campaigns.
“You have been vehement and unwavering in your support for the consolidation and entrenchment of accountability and democracy. You have also scrutinised, with your objective reporting, our administration and this is boundlessly invaluable to us. I must also commend you for the efforts you have continually put into your duties when it concerns this administration. I urge you all to devote more commitment as we commence our campaigns, and you can bank on my support.”
When asked about the debt status of the State and projects the administration intends to use the monies for, she said, the State Governor, Mallam AbdulRazaq gave a standing order that every projects listed in the bond must have their share of the spending as stated in the bond, this order must be religiously followed.
Saying, “This is one of the reasons, the administration seems slow or not delivering on a fast tempo, since some of the projects are not of two, three or four months of completion”.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Prince Sunday Fagbemi and the Director-General of the campaign council, Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, jointly submitted that the party will win the coming general elections with a wide margin.
In achieving this, Fagbemi and Seriki disclosed that efforts were ongoing to bring back former stalwarts of the party who have emerged as the governorship candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), including their supporters.
On the alleged running battle with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Prince Fagbemi, said emphatically that, the Oro-born politician is still part of the team in the State.
“He is one of our leaders and he’s still part of us. He has never said that he’s no longer part of us. He will participate in the 2023 general elections with us.
“The closer you look, the lesser you know as it concerns the APC in Kwara.
“Never mind, by the time elections come, you will see that we’re going to win by a wide margin than what happened in 2019.
“There’s no cause for alarm,” Fagbemi, concluded.
In his brief address, the APC campaign council’s Director-General, Ambassador Seriki, assured that the exodus of governorship, senatorial and other candidates of the YPP, SDP, NNPP and ADC from the ruling party will not have a negative effect on the chances of the governor come 2023 general elections.
“If you could recall, I was the Director-General of the APC campaign council in the Kwara Central senatorial district in 2018/2019 general elections.
“Many of these people that decamped from the APC didn’t participate in the election campaign then.
“You see, all these people in the YPP, SDP, we were part of one big family and are related in one way or the other.
“In 2019, I approached about 13 governorship aspirants then on the need to present one person among all of us as the party’s governorship candidate.
“The major reason they are not in the APC today is because of their personal interest or expectations which, according to them, might not have been met.
“My own interest is to see a better Kwara state.
“If they believe in the growth of the state, they would not have left the party.
“Kwara is bigger than anybody. Leaving the party, to me, is out of personal interest and not that of the state.
“The departure of those that decamped from the party would not affect the chances of the governor in his re-election bid,” he said.
Prominent among party stalwarts present at the press conference include, the State Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Mustapha Salman Ishowo, Bar. Jimoh and others.
