Kwara govt highlights achievements in education, other sectors

The Kwara State government has highlighted its achievements in education and other sectors in the second term of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

The commissioners made the presentation in Ilorin at a ministerial press briefing organised by the state Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju.

At the two-day briefing that began on Tuesday, the commissioners gave an account of their stewardship since they took office five months ago.

In her presentation, the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, said the state government was building and renovating public schools.

She said the government-sponsored the Placement Examination (Common Entrance) for primary 6 pupils and subsidised Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for JSS 3 students in public secondary schools.

Mrs Modibbo-Kawu said the government presented a cash award of #1,000,000 to Adesina Shalom, a student of Rehoboth College, Pipeline, Ilorin, who scored distinction in nine subjects in the 2023 West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The commissioner also mentioned the prompt release of feeding allowances to exchange students in Government Secondary School, Ilorin; Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin; and the Kwara State School for Special Needs, as well as the timely release of the 2024 Academic Calendar.

Mrs Modibbo-Kawu said the government also launched the Nigeria Learning Passport ( NLP) programme as part of its efforts to find solutions to learning gaps and increase access to quality education.

The government also inaugurated the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), a project meant to improve secondary education opportunities for girls.

In her submissions, the state Commissioner for Finance, Hauwa Nuru, said the government has ensured prompt and regular payments of salaries and pensions.

She revealed that the state has the lowest debt profile, attributing this to prudent management of resources.

Mrs Nuru said the government is investing heavily in infrastructural development to boost revenue generation, create job opportunities, and make the state more attractive for investments.

While giving his scorecard, the Commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Lade, said the government has designed a 30-year water and investment master plan to ensure the availability of water to residents.

He said the master plan is in partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB) and would soon be unveiled.

“I’m glad to tell this gathering that our ministry has been able to design 30 years water and investment master plan in partnership with African Development Bank and would be unveiled soon”, he said.

Mr Lade said 10 smart toilets have been constructed in selected local government areas to curb open defecation.

He said the state government has also provided operational motorcycles to the staff of the Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) and Water Corporation for water services to the people of the state.

Similarly, the Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Afees Alabi, said his ministry has applied for an executive order to strengthen the sector in the state.

He said the government is in partnership with investors, who are expected to massively deploy resources in the exploration of the state’s natural resources.

Mr Abolore said, “Investors are ready to partner with the state government and invest massively in the exploration of natural resources that the state is endowed with.

“With the right investment, the position of Kwara in solid minerals development will be attained. At the moment, we are engaging 30 mineral operators in the state to ensure that we have data that will guide our operation in the state.

“We are working in conjunction with security agencies to tackle illegal mining in the state, adding that the ministry is investigating some individuals parading themselves as agents of government by collecting revenue illegally”.

He spoke of the plans of the ministry to encourage women in mining.

The state Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Olukoju, said the briefing, the second in the series, showed that the Governor AbdulRazaq-led administration was committed to transparency and accountability.