Kwara Hotel: Don’t Mortgage the Future of our Children and Yet Unborn – Group knocks Gov AA
By our reporter
Kwara Agenda, a civil society organization has criticised the Kwara State Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq over the controversial ₦17.8bn renovation contract for the Kwara Hotel, saying that it is not in the interest of Kwarans.
The group said this recently in a statement jointly signed by its President,Abdullahi Ishaq; Secretary,Thomas Ndagi and PRO, Olatunji Samson with a copy obtained by National Pilot.
The group questioned the projected figure of ₦17.8 billion ,which it described as “outrageous” , noting that the money would have been better utilised to build a new fully functional university in the State.
“How Craneburg arrived at that outrageous sum remains a mystery because informed opinions indicated that going by the current inflation rate, a newly constructed 250-room hotel of 5-star standard will cost less than ₦5Billion while the ₦17.8 billion awarded is enough to build a new standard University.” the group said.
Kwara Agenda expressed its concern over the sincerity of the State government and other parties involved, noting that the people of the State, the children and the yet unborn will bear the brunt of what they described as “reckless and stupendous mismanagement of State resources”.
The group however describe the project as,“one of the numerous examples of misplaced priority, corruption and mismanagement of State resources by the current government in the State.”
It further accused the State Governor of looting state and insensitive to the plight of the people, adding that “Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration seems to be running the affairs of the State as if it is a personal enterprise.
“The government has sidelined established procedures, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the process and the responsible use of public resources. What is manifesting is nothing but an organized looting by insensitive Government.
“At a time when citizens are grappling with economic hardship, the government must prioritize the welfare of the people and embark on projects that can directly improve their standards of living.” They said.
Kwara Agenda also criticised the State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi for its failure to check the excesses of the AbdulRazaq-led Executive.
It further noted that, “the State House of Assembly has lost the moral ground and the people’s faith in it’s ability to discharge the Constitutional rights of oversight and checks concerning the Kwara Hotel’s renovation project.
The group however appeal to EFCC, ICPC and National Assembly to investigate the alleged high level of impunity and maladministration in the contract as well as other allegations of corruption and mismanagement of public funds in Kwara State
