…Discordant tunes from Nigeria’s state of harmony

By Omeiza Ajayi

Kwara, Nigeria’s State of Harmony has been in the news lately, owing to the activities of some political gladiators of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC stock.

Rather than harmonic notes from many of the political pianists, there has been a barbarous, discordant and clashing combination of notes, the resultant effect being the airwaves overwhelmed by dissonance.

Just few months after the election of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in 2019, some chieftains of the party led by the Information and Culture minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemi Saraki had moved against the governor.

While the governor wanted to keep to himself, the duo of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers moved otherwise, as they allegedly claimed ownership of the Ot’oge revolution which swept the then Peoples Democratic Party PDP from power, installing in its place the Abdulrazaq-led APC administration.

The governor had, to some extent, been quiet while the debate was on as to how he got to Government House. However, on the last Saturday in June, Governor AbdulRazaq at the launch of a book titled: “O to ge”, raised issues of alleged missing campaign funds among others, in series of events that culminated into APC’s victory in the 2019 gubernatorial election.

He said those who claimed to own the party in the state at that time practically disowned him until after the President had won his election and the coast became clearer back home.

“Shortly after the primaries in October, the party told me they have set up a campaign structure. Nobody consulted me before doing that, even though I was the governorship candidate. They asked me to fund the campaign structure that I was not privy to. Of course I declined it”, he said.

According to him, while he led his own small campaign team across the state, party officials were warned to steer clear of his campaigns, but only stylishly joined his train after the presidential election, when it was clear Kwarans had decided in his favour.

Declaring that he has “refused to be led by the nose”, the governor spoke about party funding for the election:

“And for ministers, governors, party supporters and friends of Kwara who I later heard donated hundreds of millions of naira to support the O to ge struggle in Kwara, I want to say that I did not receive a kobo of that fund.

“But how that money was managed or stolen is a story for another day”, he stated without mentioning names.

Lai fires back

As if waiting for a queue, Mohammed in the first Saturday of July fired back. While he denied allegations of diverting the campaign funds, he said he solely bankrolled the electioneering of the APC in constituencies of the state.

In reacting to the governor, the minister chose the occasion of his unveiling of a parallel party secretariat in the state, a development, that has expectedly drew the ire of the national leadership of the party.

He said: “I never diverted APC 2019 general elections campaign funds for my personal use as alleged by Kwara state Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. By the grace of God I singlehandedly, with the support of friends, politicians and family raised all the monies for the Oke-Ero/Isin/Ekiti/Irepodun Federal Constituency by-election of November 2018 that brought Hon Tunji Olawuyi to the House of Representatives. And I challenge anybody here to say he gave the party one penny apart from what I gave them.

“I want them to explain to Nigerians about what happened to the N70 million that Hon Olawuyi kept that the governor refused to give us during the by-election. But for the grace of God and some friends that would have been no election in November 2018, because when we raised money we gave them but two days before election we could not reach them through their phones again. I had to go to friends to raise another N150 million to prosecute that election.

“We thank God today that was the beginning of our success. When elections proper came we did not see our governorship candidate. We could not wait. I say without any fear of contradictions that by the grace of God with the money raised from friends, colleagues and associates, we financed the four elections and we scored 100 percent. I remember the governor called me after we won the first election to ask if it was true we won the by-election. And I told him ‘yes sir.’

“He said ‘I want to apologise to you that when you came to me for money they told me not to give you money. They told me you are a Lagos politician, that nobody can defeat Saraki.’ But then we did not know that God will bring more wonder. That is how we won all the elections. But they got there today and forgot the people that put them there. They are now selling lies. They are selling dummies. It didn’t take me long to know we have entered one chance. If we did not give money to the party, how did he think the party won?”, he queried.

APC steps in

As a way of resolving the impasse between the minister and the governor, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has summoned Alhaji Mohammed over his recent outbursts against Governor Abdulrazaq.

The decision was taken at Tuesday’s meeting of the Gov. Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC of the party. Buni was however absent at the meeting as he was in his state, Yobe, attending to official matters.

Multiple party sources at the meeting told Vanguard that the party leadership has written the minister asking him to appear before it next Tuesday when the CECPC is also expected to meet.

Parallel Secretariat,

anti-party activities

The minister’s decision to open a factional state secretariat for the party has not gone down well with the party hierarchy in Abuja.

The leadership of the party was so miffed at the minister’s action to the extent that it reportedly wrote him two letters.

Saturday Vanguard sources disclosed that the second letter accuses the minister of anti-party activities, with his decision last Saturday to open a factional secretariat for the party in the state capital, Ilorin.

“The party, through the National Secretary of the CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe has written the minister, asking him to appear before the committee on Tuesday. The party wants him to explain why he has been engaging the state governor in the manner he has done lately”, said a party source who was privy to the meeting.

Another source said a second letter was written the minister, querying his recent opening of a factional state secretariat for the party.

“The party views very strongly, weekend’s purported opening of a new state secretariat for the party. That is clearly anti-party. He has factionalized the party. How can you do that at a time that the CECPC is trying to reconcile all stakeholders? Well I cannot preempt what the decision of the committee will be, but any action that will be taken must be approved by Mr President who appointed him as a minister and who is the leader of our party”, he stated.

‘We frown at violation of

our constitution’

National Secretary of the Party’s CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe when contacted said he could neither confirm nor deny the development.

He however conceded that the national leadership of the party does not take kindly to members who attempt to factionalize the party.

“I cannot deny or confirm what you are asking me because these are senior citizens that we cannot afford to bring their honour or personality to disrepute.

“I cannot deny or confirm but what we need to do we have to do it. We have got to do what we have got to do.

“I know there is a committee to interface with the honourable minister. That is what it is. I am also aware that the Caretaker Committee is frank about anyone whether a honourable minister or anyone that will factionalize the party but in terms of invitation and all what you are asking me, I cannot confirm or deny. But I know the Caretaker Committee is frank about anyone who tries to factionalize the party. There is a lot of concern on anyone who tries to do this but we will show you respect. The committee is frank and does not like people who violate our constitution”.

Kwara APC threatens sanctions

Meanwhile, the Kwara state chapter of the party has said it is examining the recent outburst made by the minister with a view to punishing him.

Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the party in Kwara state, Abdullahi Samari Abubakar disclosed this in an interview in Abuja.

He said the party may apply disciplinary measures according to its constitution.

Samari said: “I still see the Minister as a member of our party. Because he has not formally told us that he is moving out of the party which I doubt if he will go. He is a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where the APC as a ruling party is running the administration of government. So I would not think he will want to move out, but from those utterances he made, the party, APC as a structure has guidelines over issues. If we feel that what he said publicly amounts to disrespect or causing acrimony within the party, honestly, we are going to make sure the rules of the party are applied against him and any other person.”

The APC chieftain also confirmed that Lai Mohammed had earlier revalidated his membership of the APC in the state.

“There are certain facts that some of you do not know. When the appeal committee came to Kwara, we met with them. There was this allegation that some people were not allowed to register, but mind you, that was wrong. If you come in then, the rooms were open. It was just that some people were discouraging others not to come out and register. For whatever reason we may not know. Let me tell you categorically that Alhaji Lai Muhammed as a minister registered. Quote me anywhere. I can show the date he registered. 

“He registered at his ward at Oro, Kwara state. You can confirm that from me. The extension of registration is not a new thing. It is not that Alhaji Lai group or camp has won anything. Remember that I also authorized a document that APC national secretariat should extend the registration in Kwara state for at least one week, because a lot of people came into the party. And, we just have to allow them as members of the party whereby they will have the equal rights to take part in whatever is going on during the congresses. 

“I authored a paper signed under the leadership of the governor who is the leader of the party in Kwara state, that is Governor Abdulrahman urging the national secretariat to please extend the registration exercise for at least a week in Kwara. If they are now extending it to two weeks, it is not a glory to anyone who want to claim because we requested for that, and I think the national leadership only acted in recognition of our letter.”

Lawmakers react

Also, members of the Kwara State House of Assembly have described as baseless and unfounded the claim by the Minister that he funded their election.

READ ALSO: Four family members die of food poisoning in Kwara

The members said only Governor Abdulrazaq supported them during their campaigns.

Speaker of the House, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu who spoke on behalf of the members at a press conference in Ilorin, said the minister did not even fully participate in the process.

Danladi-Salihu, who spoke through the Deputy Speaker of the House, Raphael Olanrewaju Adetiba, a member representing Oke-Ero Constituency, explained that Mohammed’s claim is farther from the truth.

“We ordinarily should have ignored the Minister and taken it as another lie but for the unsuspecting members of the public and posterity, the record needs to be set straight,” he said, flanked by several members of the Assembly.

The speaker said the briefing is jointly held on behalf of 21 of the 24 members of the Assembly, whom he said were convinced that Kwara can no longer be brought under any godfather or slave driver.

He said, “Lai Mohammed did not give any support in any form to members of the ninth legislature during the campaign and election; if he did, he should name who and what he gave out.

“Lai Mohammed did not participate in any of our election campaigns and did not also contribute financially to it.

“Apart from the governorship candidate, the other support was the sum of N500,000 each that we received from the national headquarters of our party. Other than that, it was the governor who funded our expenses including logistics, souvenirs, posters and other campaign materials. Even so, at no time did the Governor go about telling anyone that he funded our campaign.

“It is also laughable that Lai Mohammed could claim to have personally raised money to finance the 2019 general elections in Kwara State.”

‘Gov, not distracted’

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye has however insisted that in spite of the missiles being fired at his boss, the wheel of governance continues to grind harmoniously in the State of Harmony..

According to him, two years into the saddle, a lot has happened to chart a uniquely new course for the frontline state despite the harsh economic realities.

From the health sector, basic education, human capital development, safety net for the poor, water, to general infrastructural development, Kwara has verifiably turned the page”, he stated.

 Ajakaye said for the first time since its founding in 1967, Kwara is having a general hospital that is worth that name in facilities and in accreditation. Until now, he said, the premier general hospital had no functional intensive care unit (ICU) facility. No state hospital had any.

“Today, the Abdulrazaq administration has delivered a 12-bed ICU that is not just the largest in central Nigeria but is equipped with modern gadgets that include ventilators, patient monitors, defibrillators, syringe pump, suction machines, infusion pumps, and appropriate ICU beds, among other medical tools required to manage patients in critical condition. Before now, ICU equipment were available only at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital in Oke Oyi, a federal government facility. 

“Additional two dialog+evolution hemodialysis machines have been procured to serve special needs of patients with kidney diseases in enough quantity to prevent cross infections. Several modern ophthalmic equipment have also been purchased for the hospital — the first time any Kwara State administration has done so. Previous ophthalmic equipment were supplied by some non-profits. The administration has also purchased new equipment for all sections of the dental section of the hospital, including two new dental chairs with modern accessories. The focus is to create another healthcare haven and eventually surpass places like Kaduna as the go-to place for specialist services in northern Nigeria. A 25-bed new ward for in-patient care is also underway at the general hospital, along with a new ophthalmic centre and a remodelled dental centre”, he stated.

According to him, similar investments have been made or are in the works in a few other general hospitals, including Offa, Okuta, and Lafiagi, while the Oro General Hospital is on the radar, prepped to assume a new, strategic status in the kingdom and nearby communities.

He said the administration has brought basic healthcare facilities back to life, with over 23 of them hitherto abandoned to rot already fixed across the state. 

“Many more — in the north, south, and central — are primed for rehabilitative works. Add all of those to the commitment fee of N100m that has enrolled Kwara into a federal government-supported one PHC-per-ward primary healthcare gateway. 

“Last year, the moribund state oxygen plant came back to life, serving especially the newly built top-of-the-line isolation centre. Since coming on board, the administration has hired over 300 health care personnel, including doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, and other alike to strengthen service delivery and improve quality of care, while at least 5,000 poor citizens have benefited from free surgical interventions, including eye surgery for cataract, removal of breast lumps, cervical cancer screening and cryotherapy treatment, repair of inguinal hernias, hydrocele, and lipomas.

“In September 2020, the Governor flagged off the onboarding of 10,000 indigents into the state’s health insurance scheme. 31,000 more indigents have since been enrolled into the scheme while formal sector participants have also keyed into it. Kwara now has a few state-of-the-arts ambulances, up from zero when the government came on board.

“Kwara is a leading state in the fight against COVID-19, with the state leading national tally in vaccination for the pandemic”, he added.

Ajakaye declared that in the education sector, the administration has set a pace that is the talk of town in Nigeria. At least 4,701 teachers were recently employed through a process that considered only competence and qualification, shutting the door against favouritism.

“It was the first time in the recent history of the state that applicants for government jobs needed not know anyone, politicians, thought leaders, or any social influencers; all they needed was competence, right qualification, and an ability to convince the panel comprising top educationists that they merit the job. In that exercise, children of the rich and influential played on the same field as their counterparts from poor homes. 

“The recruitment occurred amid an ongoing process to give facelift to dilapidated school structures and build new ones across the state — thanks to the N7.1bn the Governor had recently accessed from the Universal Basic Education after seven years of official blacklist of Kwara State. No fewer than 300 schools will be rehabilitated in the process. At the moment, the administration has concluded works on most of the 43 schools under renovation across the state”, the CPS stated.

He added that the administration has completed a 3,000-seat auditorium at the Kwara State Polytechnic and a fully-equipped 300-seat information communication technology centre at the Offa College of Health Technology, complete with an access road that had been a nightmare for years. 

Ajakaye added that recently, the administration rolled out the Kwapreneurs, an ambitious plan to invest in and raise a new generation of successful young people. Under the scheme, 35-year-olds or younger people with viable business ideas or existing one will be supported with interest-free loans ranging from N350, 000 to N3m. With 1,200 young people designed to benefit over the next four years, the Kwapreneurs is Kwara’s most significant economic programme yet for the youths. The recruitment into the Teaching Service Commission TESCOM, in which at least 2,000 teachers were engaged, had exclusively targeted youths as persons above 35 were not considered for the jobs. 

He also spoke of an Innovation Hub within the Kwara Hotel premises which he said will be a breeding ground for techies to weigh in on societal challenges, while the Visual Arts Centre, the second Dolby Atmos certified film production studio in west Africa, will make Kwara the new go-to place for African creative industry. 

The Kwara State Social Investment Programme, initiated by the Governor, is said to be the largest (and, according to the Bank of Industry, the most transparent) safety net by any subnational government in Nigeria today. 

“The four-pronged scheme targets poor and vulnerable elders, petty traders, young people, and school-age children. These are Owo Arugbo (which currently has at least 10,000 elderly beneficiaries); Owo Isowo with no fewer than 21,000 beneficiaries; K-power for youths with over 13,000 trained in digital marketing skills; and Ounje Ofe, free food, designed for schoolchildren”, Ajakaye stated. 

On January 15, 2021, the administration he said, launched a 10-year agricultural transformation plan that is pegged on six pillars of crop production, finance, livestock, access to market, value chain, and cross-cutting programmes. 

The administration said it has paid unprecedented attention to rural and urban roads to reduce travel time, boost productivity, and encourage investments in agriculture.

“Over 700 kilometres of rural roads and several river crossings linking farming communities are to be fixed under the World Bank/Kwara partnership within the next years — made possible with the government’s payment of N400m counterpart funds between 2019 and 2020.

The asphalt work on the 33kilometre iconic Gwanara Ilesha Baruba road has begun, while significant rehabilitation works have been done on the long abandoned Kaiama-Kosubosu, while talks are ongoing to get Abuja to fix the long stretch between Kishi and Kaiama. Earlier, the administration graded the Bani Kaiama road to ease movement of farm produce. The administration has constructed dozens of interlocking (access) roads in the metropolis to shorten travel time.

“From zero functional tractor it inherited in 2019, the administration has purchased at least 15 new tractors, complemented with implements and sustainable plans, to support commercial farming, drive economic growth, and create jobs. Recently, the Governor flagged off agricultural inputs subsidy scheme to support smallholder farmers with chemicals, improved seeds, and fertilisers at half market price. No fewer than 10,000 beneficiary farmers have been captured. The subsidy is an offshoot of the Beta Yield component of the transformation plan. Another component is the 500-hectare per local government Farm Kwara initiative whose pilot scheme has berthed in Ifelodun local government, supported by the private sector to help young people and women through agribusiness”, Ajakaye explained. 

The administration has also reportedly commenced the construction of new waterworks in Jebba, completion/extension of the one in Oyun/Offa, and Rore, and extensive reticulation within Ilorin metropolis.

On security, government said it has made huge investments such as purchase of patrol vehicles even as it currently sponsors the largest number of (community) police constabularies to aid intelligence gathering and protect lives and property. 

The administration is working hard to promote accountability. Its adoption of e-procurement process, its enviable profile in the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS), and the social audit programme testify to this. Add that to its prudence which enables the state to survive, and pay salaries as and when due, at this crunch time”, the governor’s spokesman added.

However, more important and at the centre of some of the political crisis in the state is the eradication of cronyism and prebendalism through what is known as the Greater Kwara Doctrine.

This is a culture of extending the dividends of democracy to every Kwaran or residents of Kwara, regardless of their persuasions. The doctrine erases the cronyism of the past years where government jobs or patronage were reserved exclusively for chieftains and followers of a political tendency. 

The doctrine has consistently played out since 2019, from the unexpected retention of top civil servants in their positions to distribution of COVID-19 palliatives, #EndSARS business support funds, recruitment of medical personnel, teachers’ recruitment, to payment of promotion arrears for teachers dating back to 2015, among others. 

“What we see under the Governor is what the ordinary man calls ‘Ijoba mekunu’ — a government with genuine attachment to and love for the vulnerable and the poor.

“Strategic plan is central to sustainable development. On that note, a 10-year Kwara State Sustainable Development Plan (2021-2030) is ready for launch. The blueprint will serve to better coordinate government’s responses to population growth, youths bulge, food security, human capital and infrastructural development, and job creation strategies. And, as the capital city expands and grows in population, the second Ilorin master plan is now in the works to prepare for the future — 49 years after the first master plan was designed by the Bamigboye regime”, said Ajakaye. 

Vanguard News Nigeria