By Adedeji Joseph, Ilorin
Comrade Issa Aremu, National Executive Council member of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and General Secretary of Textile Workers Union has formally declared to run for 2019 Governorship election in Kwara State.
He is to run under the Labour Party of Nigeria with a declaration that his mission was to rescue the 51 years old Kwara state from misrule and take it back to its old glory.
The celebrated Labour leader l made his declaration at the celebration of Nelson Mandela Centenary birthday in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, where politicians and thousands of trade union activists
At the declaration event where he was also the Guest speaker, Issa Aremu said he was motivated to join the gubernatorial race because Kwara state needed “a radical change from underdevelopment, mass hunger, and poverty”.
He lamented that unlike first generation states such as Kano, Rivers and Lagos, which had advanced in roads, health, education developments, security and public welfare, Kwara had in recent years been poorly governed.
This, he said, had been through “exclusive and unaccountable governance” adding that time had come for the people of Kwara to enthrone an organized and inclusive governance for mass prosperity for all.
The Labour leader said the “well-havings” who are the few ruling elites had denied “the well- being” of many citizens and residents of Kwara state.
He recalled that at creation, Kwara was the “fastest growing” state with bold Development Plans which laid solid foundations for accelerated economic growth, increased productivity in agriculture, industrial development and improved quality of life of the people through the provision of necessary infrastructures adding that “Kwara must return to development planning.”
He lamented that Kwara state ranks 28th on the ranking list of states GDP “beaten to it by newest states like, Imo, Edo, Ogun, and Oyo. He promised, if elected, he would bring back productivity through aggressive re-industrialization schemes.
Comrade Aremu’s declaration was preceded by an interactive session on the “State of Kwara State” during which discussants were unanimous that most of the industries in the state had closed down with mass loss of thousands of jobs.