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Urges Gov. Abdulrazaq to use his position as NGF Chair to facilitate Federal Appointments and Benefits for Kwarans.
The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has applauded the investigative report by the Punch Newspaper, which tagged Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State as one of the top Nigerian governors who have been governing their states from abroad. The party sees this report as a validation of its previous claims that the governor has relocated the state capital to Abuja ever since he took office as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, thus rendering him as a part-time governor.
The PDP released a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, expressing its disappointment in Governor Abdulrahman’s tenure, which it believes has been characterized by neglect of his duties and a disregard for the people’s needs. They compare this to the time when Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki held a similar position, describing how Saraki used the position to attract governors from across Africa and secure federal appointments for the people of Kwara.
The party condemns the governor’s attempt to cover up his absence from Kwara State by hiring private jets on a daily basis, which they believe is draining the state’s resources. They explain that the governor and his media team have developed a strategy where he charters jets to take him from Abuja to Kwara, where he takes photographs in various locations before returning to Abuja for the night. They argue that this practice is deceptive and a waste of taxpayers’ money, estimating that more than N25 million (about $61,000) is spent on chattered jets each day. They highlight the potential cost of N4.5 billion (about $11 million) that would have been spent on these jets from May 2023 until now.
“In a bid to cover up and deceive Kwarans that he is always around, Governor Abdulrahman and his media handlers have devised a strategy to always chatter private jets daily which will convey him to Kwara from Abuja to enable him to take photographs in choice locations and after the photo spree, the chattered Jets return him to Abuja where he will pass his night. It is these photos that his media handlers then share around to hoodwink the public that the Governor is around.”
“Our Party is not bothered about the Governor’s phobia of staying in Kwara but we are bothered about the negative implications on the Kwara treasury as it is estimated that more than N25 million is required for anybody to chatter a private jet from Abuja to Ilorin. If that is true, over N25 million is being expended daily on private jets to and fro Abuja by Mr Governor. It is safe to say such is reckless spending of Taxpayers’ money as it means from May 2023 till date, the Governor may have succeeded in using N4.5 billion Taxpayers’ money to hire chattered jets. This price is too huge to pay for Kwarans whose only crime was reelecting Abdulrahman to office.”
The PDP concludes its statement by urging Governor Abdulrahman to prioritize the needs of the people and return to Kwara to focus on governance. They emphasize the negative impact his absence has had on important events, such as the recent Islamic Public Lecture, where his absence disappointed thousands of Muslim faithful and the Sultan of Sokoto and the Emir of Ilorin. The governor visited the Emir’s Palace while he was in Ilorin but did not participate in the lecture, leaving the Emir and a few individuals to handle the responsibilities that would typically be shared with the governor.
The Kwara PDP calls on Governor Abdulrahman to reconsider his actions and work towards fulfilling his sworn duties as the governor of the state.
Our Party, therefore, urges Governor Abdulrahman to consider the suffering masses and return home to face the serious business of governance which he had sworn to uphold during his inauguration into office.
