How I’ll avoid being ‘stoned’ by Kwara people – Gov. Abdulrazaq

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How I’ll avoid being ‘stoned’ by Kwara people – Gov. Abdulrazaq

 

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has assured people of the state that he would deliver on his campaign promises to avoid being “stoned”.

He gave the assurance during a meeting with top officials of the Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency in Ilorin, the state capital, over the weekend.

AbdulRazaq said he was aware of the high expectations of the people and has resolved to meet their yearning, especially in road construction and provision of other social infrastructure.

He said: “The state of our roads in Kwara is disappointing. This is particularly true of Kwara North.

“There is no road, for instance, to Gwanara especially now that it is raining and yet the contractor handling it is collecting money. That was why the previous administration was stoned (in Gwanara).

“We don’t want to be stoned.

“Kwara people have woken up and if I don’t fix the road, they will protest. So, we will sit with the contractors. We are not sacking or removing them. We want to be proactive so they can do their job.”

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Kwara Governor appoints Chief of Staff, SSG, CPS

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Kwara Governor appoints Chief of Staff, SSG, CPS

 

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on Friday announced his first appointments namely the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Chief of Staff, CoS, and the Chief Press Secretary.

A statement by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mr Agboola Olarewaju, said the appointments include: Alhaji Aminu Adisa Login – CoS; Alhaji Mamman Saba Jibril – SSG; and Alhaji Radius Ajakaye – CPS.

Logun, Chief of Staff is a pioneer industrialist in Ilorin and an alumnus of the National institute for strategic studies, NIPSS, Kuru Jos, Plateau state.

He hails from Ilorin and was Chairman of the 80-member Kwara state Transition committee appointed by Governor Abdulrazaq.

Logun also an alumnus of Barewa college, Zaria, Kaduna state, attended King’s college, Lagos, had a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical engineering from Loughborough University of Technology, and a Master’s of Science, M.Sc from Birmingham University, both in the UK.

He worked at various times in Lever Brothers, Port Sunlight, UK, Cerekem Arhus, Denmark, North Brewery Ltd, Kano and Nigeria Iron Ore Mining company, Itakpe, Kogi state.

Jibril, the new SSG, hails from the Kwara North senatorial district and was until his appointment the head of Geography department at the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna.

He has a bachelor’s degree in Geography Master’s of Science, M.Sc, in Geography and Planning, and a P.hd in Geography and a specialist in remote sensing applications.

Jibril who has published several articles in local and foreign journals is a member of the Association of Nigeria Geographers and Cartographic Association of Nigeria.

The new Chief Press Secretary, Ajakaye, a seasoned journalist holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and International Studies, and currently a Master’s degree student in History and Diplomacy both from the Lagos State University, LASU.

A native of Alabe in the Irepodun Local Government of the state, he was until his appointment, the Nigerian correspondent for Anadolu Agency, Turkish semi-official news medium and world’s fifth largest news agency.

Ajakaye with over 15 years of experience in active journalism, has reported for various local and international news media as politics and development journalist including the Daily Independent.

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Kwara: Gov. Abdulrazaq reveals what he’ll do over civil servants’ political leanings, N30,000 minimum wage

NEWS

Kwara: Gov. Abdulrazaq reveals what he’ll do over civil servants’ political leanings, N30,000 minimum wage

 

The Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has assured civil servants in the state that he will not witch-hunt anyone for his or her political convictions.

He gave the assurance on Thursday in Ilorin, the state capital, during his maiden meeting with civil servants in the state.

“We would not label anyone. We will carry everybody along and promote a culture of transparency and independence.

“We want Kwara to regain its rightful place, particularly in the North where it used to be the number one in terms of education and so on,” Abdulrazaq said.

The Governor promised to ensure prompt payment of salaries, and also to pay the minimum wage after due consultations with the civil servants and proper assessment of the financial situation of the state.

“We will pay May salary almost immediately. We want to get to a place where there are no backlog of salary and pensions.

“We’ll discuss the minimum wage. The intention is to pay, but we need to sit down and resolve a few issues.

“There has been so much plundering of the state resources, but we will rise above all that.

“We’ll ride on your back to get things done while your welfare is taken care of,” he said.

The governor declared that his government would strive to plug loopholes and reduce overhead costs through prudent management of resources.

He also promised to address the infrastructural deficit in the state and create wealth through private enterprise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by top party leaders led by APC chairman, Mr Bashir Bolarinwa; Head of the Civil Service, Mrs Susan Oluwole; permanent secretaries, directors, and other senior civil servants in the state.

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Workers declare ‘war’ on Kwara Government over non-payment of salaries

NEWS

Workers declare ‘war’ on Kwara Government over non-payment of salaries

 

Aggrieved workers on the payroll of the Kwara State Government have intensified their protests and strike actions over the refusal of the state government to pay them their entitlements.

The workers, who are said to be owed several months of salaries, are pressing home their demands, following negative attitude of the government in addressing the issues affecting them.

We understand that so far, workers of about six MDAs of the State Government, Kwara College of Education,(COED), Ilorin, are being owed five months salary arrears.

Also, workers of the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, (CAILS) Ilorin are owed four months salary arrears; Kwara Water Corporation are owed three months and non remittance of cooperative deductions of about N35m.

Staff of the state Waste Disposal Agency also have about six months arrears yet to be paid, with several parts of the state capital littered with heaps of refuse as they have refused to work until their salaries are paid.

Similarly, activities in the three state owned media houses, Radio Kwara,Kwara Television Service and The Herald Newspaper have been paralyzed as result of the March and April unpaid salaries to the workers and the non release of operation funds.

In the bid to seek divine intervention, the workers of the media houses converged on the Radio Kwara headquarters on Friday after Jumat service to offer special prayers on the crisis, which has hit them since 2016 when the Sole Administrator , Dr Femi Akorede who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media.

Already, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC) is currently investigating the repositioning project of the media houses tagged ‘ Project Alpha’ handled by the office of the sole administrator.

Some workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declared that “we are aggrieved, and insulted by the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s declaration that “he is leaving Kwara better than he met it.”

According to them, despite the “day light robbers of the state and the three media houses which the claimed to have spent millions of naira to transform, the media outfits were not functioning as expected.

“What they claimed to have spent on them is frightening when compared with what is on the ground.”

The workers declared that they will not go back to work unless their outstanding salaries and running cost are paid in full by the government, adding “enough is enough.”

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IAC Training Plane crash-lands in Ilorin

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IAC Training Plane crash-lands in Ilorin

A training aircraft belonging to the International Aviation College (IAC) Ilorin, crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport in Kwara.

Daily Trust reported on Thursday that the incident occurred on Wednesday.

The plane with registration Number 5N-BNH had two pilots on-board.

Although there was no casualty, there was panic within the airport and nearby community.

The incident affected Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed whose return flight to Ilorin was delayed for hours.

The Accident investigation Bureau (AIB) has reportedly opened investigation into the incident.

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Offa Bank Robbery: 10 Persons Including 4 Police Officers Confirmed Dead

​BREAKING NEWS

Offa Bank Robbery: 10 Persons Including 4 Police Officers Confirmed Dead

Ten persons have been confirmed dead, including four policemen after robbers invaded a commercial bank in Kwara State town of Offa yesterday.

It is reported that the bandits gained access to the town from Ijagbo, in the western end.

Eyewitnesses who recalled the deadly incident told our reporter on the telephone that “The robbers carted away substantial amount of money from the banks’ vaults.

“They blew open the security of the banks with dynamite. Many passers-by were hit by stray bullets. A commercial motorcyclist was among those killed.”

It was gathered that the bandits, numbering about 15, came in with about four vehicles. They blocked access to the town from Ilorin and Osogbo. They operated for about one hour from around 4:30pm.

The injured were taken to the Offa General Hospital.

Kwara State police Spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi who confirmed the raid, said, “victims included policemen and other individuals.”

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