Members of the Kwara State House of Assembly last week over-sighted projects across the state awarded by the executive. Acting Editor Mumini AbdulKareem was part of the newsmen requested to cover the event which took the lawmakers across the three senatorial districts of the state.
For members of the Kwara State House of Assembly, the last one week had been a hectic schedule as they embarked on over sight functions to inspect ongoing projects that had been awarded by the executive since the advent of the present administration last year.
The exercise, which includes the review, monitoring and scrutiny of the state government projects commenced on Tuesday 16th, 2020 and took the 24 lawmakers to the nook and crannies of the state across the three senatorial districts of Kwara Central, North and South where projects ranging from roads, schools, streetlights and water projects among other infrastructural provision were inspected.
Commencing the exercise, the lawmakers split themselves into two groups each led by the Speaker, Hon Yakubu Salihu Danladi and his deputy, Hon Raphael Olanrewaju Adetiba respectively beginning the tour from Kwara Central before heading South and ended it in Kwara North on Wednesday 24th June, 2020 in Baruten, the speakers constituency.
During the first day of the tour, the lawmakers expressed concern about the quality of some of jobs executed by contractors handling some of the projects across the state. The Speaker said the level of work done by some of the contractors did not commensurate with money paid to them and urged them to redress some of the lapses that were observed at places At the Government High School Adeta and the solar panels project at the School for Special Needs where he assured that the House after resumption will look into why the contractor has not fully executed the project. Other projects inspected by the lawmakers included road projects at College of Education Ilorin, Kuntu-Adeta, Awolowo-Daudu, 500 KVA transformers installed at Adewole and behind KWASU Contact Office, Zango Ilorin, Kwara State Broadcasting corporation Apata Yakuba and Government Day Secondary School Agbabiaka, Ilorin
On its part, the other team led by the Deputy Speaker, Hon Raphael Olanrewaju Adetiba inspected the renovation of Ajasse Ipo Comprehensive High School, Government Technical College, Esie, Oro Grammar School, Victory College of Commerce, Edidi and Esie Museum Road In Irepodun Local Government Area. Other projects inspected were Oro Ago – Oyate road, Oro Ago Water Works, Igbaja Water Works, renovation of classrooms at Baptist Grammar School, Igbaja in Ifelodun Local Government Area. Hon Adetiba pointed out that the legislative oversight on the capital projects is geared towards ensuring that the projects are delivered according specifications and frowned at some the contractors and projects managers of the school and road projects for their shoddy works on the projects. He however expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on Esie Museum Township Road and Oro Grammar School and urged the contractors handling the various projects to always maintain quality to enable the projects stand the test of time.
During the second day of the tour at Moro local government and which took the speakerโs group to Moro and Ifelodun Local Governments to inspect the Shao township road, ongoing renovation of Government Secondary School Malete, Government Arabic School Jebba, Ojere, road Bababloma, Government Secondary School Share and newly installed five thousand KVA transformer at Oke-Ode community, they charged contractors handling state government projects to work in line with specification and timeframe. According to the speaker, if jobs are executed to specifications such will stand the test of time with many positive effects on the masses and government. He implored communities to maintain and protect public utilities provided by government such as electricity and water installations, roads, bridges, hospitals and schools. The Speaker who expressed satisfaction with level of work done at the areas visited along with his colleagues assured people of Kwara State that the 9th legislature in the state would not relent in bringing government closer to them through masses orientation legislative activities.
At the palace of Elesa of Oke-Ode, Oba Abdulkadir Alebiosu, the monarch while thanking Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and the Kwara State House of Assembly for ongoing efforts to salvage the community from darkness of about two years following damage of the 2500KVA transformer in the community before. The lawmakers urged the contractor to work with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to energise the transformer so that power can be restored to Oke-Ode as soon as possible.
In Ilorin East visited by the team led by the Deputy Speaker, Hon Adetiba where some projects inspected include ongoing Akerebiata drainage, newly renovated Up Kwara Water at Iyawo Poultry/Sobi Area, Hospital/Gaa-Osibi/Medina road, a block of classrooms at Okelele Secondary School and the newly sunk motorized borehole at Isale-Koko community, he assured that the House would not rest on its oars in assisting the state government to see that contractors handling projects delivered quality jobs for the use of the people.
“We thank God for yet another opportunity to go on oversight, to conduct checking on what is being done. We know that the Governor is doing so much to make sure that Kwarans have a better life. But of course, there is need for us to continue to assist in ensuring that value for money is achieved. We went to sites to see what the contractors are doing. A lot of people think it is business as usual, and I know the narratives were to change and it is already changing. Those contractors that were doing shoddy jobs think it is business as usual. Now, they would realise it is not business as usual and they must ensure they deliver to value. Kwarans know that Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq is ready to work, he has some saboteurs sabotaging his effort, which we will not allow to happen”, the Deputy Speaker said.
At Edu Local Government during the Day Four of the inspection, the legislators called on contractors handling state government projects to imbibe the spirit of โgiving back to communities in form of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Speaker noted that when such steps are taken, the communities will experience rapid developments and would be friendly with the contractors. He further made case for patronage of indigenous artisans in the execution of all government projects so that they will be employed and make ends meet rather than staying idle due to influx of skilled workers from other places. The contractor handling the Tsaragi-Batakpan, Mission-Secretariat and Tswata-Bodzo roads in Tsonga all in Edu Local Government, Eng. Wang JiuLin had earlier told the lawmakers that he sunk borehole and rehabilitated some roads in the area as part of his corporate social responsibility. JiuLin however made case for additional funding of the Tswata-Bodzo road in Tsonga where he explained that 1.3 km was originally awarded but after completion, it got to 1.5 km. Some of the project inspected include the comprehensive renovation of Government Secondary School Lafiagi, where the legislatures expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work urging the contractor to sustain the tempo. In their separate remarks, the Principal of GSS Lafiaji, Alhaji Abdullahi Etsu, member representing Edu Constituency, Ndanusa Guyegi and the chairman House Committee on Education, Muhammed Baba-Salihu described the construction and renovation of the school by the present administration as historic and impactful noting that the conducive environment would spur teachers and students to bring out the best in them.
The oversight exercise climaxed at the Speakers constituency in Baruten on Wednesday. During the exercise, people in the senatorial district assured the speaker of their continued support and loyalty to the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. The All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Leader in Baruten, Comrade Idris Hamidu, said the area has never had it so good and thanked the state government for what he described as unprecedented achievements within one year in office. Hamidu who was speaking during the inspection of a box culvert constructed at Gure community in the local government recalled that the Sumaku river had caused a lot of erosion havoc to residents for close to 20 years without any action.
He also applauded Rt Hon Salihu and other lawmakers for their sacrifice and hard work to deliver dividends of democracy to the nooks and crannies of the state noting that the speaker has demonstrated competence as a youth to occupy leadership position. The President of Gure Development Association, Sule Bio-Saidu, who also thanked the state government for providing water, road rehabilitation and construction however appealed to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to urgently come to their aid by constructing a bridge that would help control the massive erosion of the Konkereku river that is fast becoming an ecological threat to Gure town and its environs. Other projects inspected include six blocks of classrooms at Government Day Secondary School, Okuta, renovation of Government Secondary School, Yashikira, rehabilitation of vandalised 33 KV electric cable at Ilesha-Chikanda, the proposed FM station at Okuta, motorized boreholes at Boriya, Shiya, Kosubosu, Gwasoro and Sinawu.
