From Adedeji Joseph, Ilorin
The thirteen governorship aspirants who bought forms to contest under the All Progressives Congress (APC) were made to present their manifestos in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday.
However, one of them, Alhaji Kayode Abdulwahab, said to be an aide to Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Senate President alleged to be sponsored as a mole in the APC was nowhere to be found.
The remaining twelve, made up of Alhaji Hakeem Lawal; son of late Governor Mohammed Lawal, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; two brothers; Lukman and Moshood Mustapha, Ish’aq Modibbo-Kawu, Dele Belgore and Soliu Mustapha.
Others were Alhaji Abdllahi Yaman, Yahaya Seriki, Professor Oba Abdulraheem; Alhaji Tajudeen Audu and Yakub Gobir.
All the aspirants’ presentations centred on education, health, road infrastructures, industrial development, human capital development.
Hakeem Lawal in particular promised to
utilize available human resources that previous governments had killed through poor wages, lack of training and lack of incentives .
Abdulrazaq and Lukeman Mustapha presented a detailed modality which they intend to use to revamp the industrial status of the State that had been in doldrums.
Earlier, State Chairman of APC. Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa, said the occassion which was the first of its kind in the history of its kind in Kwara was a depature from the old order.
“This is a departure from the old order of ‘Mo-fun-E’ (I award you) hegemonic system that has only succeeded in producing governors that are not only disconnected from the people but exhibit unbriddled loyalty to a single man because of how they got to office”, he said.
Also, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who initiated the manifesto event and presided as the leader of APC in Kwara declared that the era of imposition was over in the state.
He told the aspirants to note that whoever emerged as the party flagbearer should know he must be accountable to the people at every stage.
Meanwhile, at the event, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the choice of the APC Governorship candidate for Kwara state will be made through a rigorous and transparent process, as the party is set to win the state’s governorship election in 2019
13 Guber Aspirants In Kwara Face Manifesto Event
The Minister, who is the leader of the APC in Kwara State, stated this in Ilorin on Wednesday, at a parley organized for the APC governorship aspirants in the state to present their vision and mission for the
state.
He described as unprecedented the parley that saw 12 of the 13 governorship aspirants under the auspices of the APC present their manifestos to the state APC stakeholders at a well-attended and
well-organised session in the state capital.
”This parley is one of a kind, perhaps unprecedented in the history of our dear state. It signposts our determination to conduct a transparent and hitch-free primaries, to do things differently from
the past so that we can move our state forward and raise the living standards of our people. After all, governance is all about the people,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He said all eyes are on Kwara State because of the level of interest that has been shown in the governorship ticket of the APC in the state and the fact that the party is set to occupy the seat of power in the state in 2019.
The Minister said the parley will go down in history as the first time any political party in Kwara State will be organising such a forum as a platform to analyze the vision and mission of its aspirants.
Explaining the process, he said each aspirant was required to present his vision and mission to party stakeholders, in an open, transparent and organized manner.
”If you become the Governor of Kwara State under the APC flag, what can the long-suffering people of our dear state expect from you? How do you intend to ensure that the government serves the people rather than just one man? How can what has become a one-man rule be
transmuted to majority rule for the betterment of the people? The answers to these and other questions will give us an insight into your plan of action for the state,” Alhaji Mohammed said
He said there is no favoured candidate among the governorship aspirants, adding: ”We have not and do not intend to predetermine who our candidate will be. Whoever emerges will do so through a rigorous, transparent process. So let’s all keep an open mind.”