By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, on Thursday said the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had been uninspiring and disappointing.
Abdulrazaq who is of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over the rein of government of the state on May 29, 2919 after his party defeated the PDP at the poll to dislodge it as the ruling party in the state.
The APC’s victory which was landslide was facilitated by the desire of the voters in the state to have a taste of a new government different from the one controlled by the PDP.
The PDP, in a statement issued by its chairman, Kola Shittu, described the one year under Abdulrazaq’s administration as colossal as it said the administration was characterised by incompetence.
The party said that due to alleged disappointing performance of the administeation “the euphoria that greeted the coming of the administration has waned significantly.”
The PDP while alleging that no tangible achievement or accomplishment in any sector could be attributed to the governor since he assumed office on May 29, 2019 said the governor and his aides had always allegedly churned out lies and false performance indicators to deceive people of the state.
The statement reads: “The governor’s performance has been utterly disappointing, uninspiring and a colossal waste. This explains Kwarans’ growing disillusionment with this government. There is no gainsaying that the euphoria that greeted the coming of the present administration has waned significantly.
“It is saddening and disappointing to Kwarans that after a year in office, the present administration cannot point to any tangible achievement or accomplishment it has recorded in any sector. The AbdulRazaq’s administration cannot lay claim to the completion of a single project, initiated by it in the last 365 days, save for rehabilitation of roads, construction of culverts, interlocking and fixing of potholes here and there. Even, the new Civil Servants Secretariat which the administration inherited from the PDP administration of Abdulfatah Ahmed at about 95 per cent completion stage has yet to be completed.
“Also, in the last 365 days, the Abdulrazaq’s administration has not implemented any meaningful policy or programme that has had direct impact on the lives of Kwarans. The administration which prides itself as a pro-masses one is yet to implement its much-talked about social intervention programmes for the suffering masses that voted it into power. It also has not initiated any programme to address the issue of youth unemployment in the State.
“Whereas the PDP government of Maigida at inception, launched the Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme (KWABES) as a platform to generate reliable data of unemployed youths in the State and engage them in productive ventures. About 2000 unemployed youths in the State were engaged under the scheme within the first 100 days of the administration, and more than 1000 of them transited to permanent positions in the State civil service.
“Also, the issue of the implementation of the new N30,000 minimum wage for workers in the state is still in abeyance. Various negotiations held on the new minimum wage between the government and the organised labour before the outbreak of COVID-19 did not yield any fruitful result, and there is no assurance that the Abdulrazaq administration will implement the new minimum wage policy, which he promised Kwara workers.
“The Abdulrazaq’s administration lacks sincerity, transparency and accountability. Kwarans are shocked by this government’s claim that it has spent a whooping N8billion on health, without any tangible deliverable in that sector, except for old ‘Danfo Buses’ used as Ambulance for COVID-19 operations. Our health workers lack adequate PPEs and are left on their own in this period. Our party challenges Governor Abdulrazaq to tell Kwarans what was done with the N8b he claimed to have expended on the health sector.
“During his inauguration as Governor of the State, Abdulrazaq pledged to uphold discipline, transparency and accountability but the reverse has been the case. Government’s spendings are shrouded in secrecy while contracts are only awarded to cronies of the government.
“The government also does not communicate to Kwarans the monthly revenues including federal allocation and IGR of the State, which was one of the hallmark of the last PDP administration. It was this feat among other commitments that earned Kwara a slot among the states that benefited from the N43.42b performance-based grant component of the World Bank-assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme in 2018. Kwara’s share of the funds was recently released to the Abdulrazaq’s administration.
“We expect that Governor Abdulrazaq’s administration that is a beneficiary of this fund and IGR reforms carried out by the immediate past PDP administration that led to significant increase in the State’s IGR, would acknowledge these efforts of the past government, work on further improving the State’s IGR and also ensure prudence, transparency and accountability in the management of the State’s resources.
“Under Abdulrqzaq’s first year in office, we have witnessed all sort of impunity and infractions such as the unlawful suspension of elected local government chairmen and dissolution of duly constituted statutory commissions, flagrant disobedience to valid court orders, victimisation of civil servants, illegal sacking of permanent secretaries, among other illegalities, which have raised concern about this administration’s attitude to and respect for the rule of law and due process.
“Abdulrazaq should, therefore, tender an unreserved apology for the disobedience to court orders and constitutional violations under his administration since he assumed office and ensure that the right things are done to correct the abnormalities.
“He should seek help and competent hands that will help him manage the State, as the current set of cabinet he parades, which took him more than 100 days to constitute, have demonstrated that they are large inexperienced and incompetent.
“It is unfortunate that Abdulrazaq and his party, the APC that came on board through lies and propaganda, still think they can employ the same approach to govern Kwarans. They ought to have realized that Kwarans are now wiser and no longer interested in lies, tirades and propaganda but in actions and policies that will better their lives and move the state forward. Kwarans can no longer be swayed by empty promises, deceits and false performance indicators Governor Abdulrazaq and his spin doctors always push out to deceive them.”