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The
recent National Good Governance Tour to Kwara State, spearheaded by the
Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, has attracted divergent
views.
Maku had visited federal
and state government projects sites in the state penultimate week in
company with the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, other
Federal Government functionaries, members of the civil society and women
groups.
The tour, which lasted three days, ended with a Citizen’s Forum.
The team inspected the
following projects: rehabilitation of the Lagos-Jebba-Kano rail with a
train ride from Ilorin to Offa; Aviation College, Ilorin; Cargo
Terminal, Ilorin, and Diagnostic Centre, Airport Road, Ilorin.
They inspected the irrigation dam at Eyenkorin and Shonga Farms. They also visited Michael Imoudu.
Maku, Kwara State
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Rasak
Atunwa and other members of the team commended the idea of the tour and
projects in the state.
But the Action Congress of Nigeria in the state and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, criticised the tour.
Maku said that the NGGT
was meant to go round the 36 states of the federation, adding that it
was a programme that involved the FG and the 36 governors in Nigeria.
He said that the project
design involved the ministries of Information and National Planning and
the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Performance.
He said after the design
of the project, it was taken to the National Economic Council to seek
the partnership of the 36 governors and seek their inputs into the
programme.
Maku claimed that all
the governors in the federation supported it, adding that a committee
was set up and chaired by the Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.
He said that the NGGT
aimed to promote good governance and democracy. He stated that the tour
is a continuous one and encouraged continuous discussion by all tiers of
government and the people on better governance.
“The media must work to
improve the image of the nation. There are projects going on and there
are also challenges, I believe that we can discuss them vividly without
ruining the image of the country,” he said.
In his response, Ahmed
called for greater synergy among the federal and state governments in
capital project initiation and execution, adding that such would improve
infrastructure provision for citizens.
Ahmed said there was the
need for the projects to be implemented in such a way that the state
government would take ownership since it is nearer the people and ensure
sustainability, maintenance and longevity of the projects.
Atunwa, who was
represented by his deputy, Prof. Mohammed Gana, identified good
leadership, vibrant and understanding members of the State House of
Assembly, peace and the understanding and cooperation of the people as
factors that had accounted for what he called development and growth in
the state.
“If Nigeria must make
progress, we must embrace peace. The Kwara government has made
tremendous development because the people had been cooperating with the
government.
“Agriculture is the
platform for the development of this country. The FG has to give
agriculture the attention that it deserves,” he said.
President, Nigerian
Union of Journalists, Muhammad Garba, represented by the NUJ Kogi State
chapter chairman, Ali Atabor, said the NGGT had the possibility of
showcasing the level of provision of democracy dividends.
He commended the
initiative, adding, “Kwara State is on track. From the projects we saw, I
think many of them are very germane to our people, especially Shonga
Farms and the Aviation College. Shonga Farm is very important because if
we are talking about the survival of democracy, food security is part
of it.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman,
Nigerian Women Society, Mrs. Nkechi Mba, urged the state to pass a bill
on the elimination of discrimination against women. She appealed to
Ahmed to make budgetary provisions for the Office of the First Lady to
enhance the development and welfare of women and children.
The National President
of Road Transport Workers, Sunday Orojetoro, and the President,
Transformation Movement Nigeria, Nwosu Emmanuel, commended the tour and
the projects embarked upon by the federal and Kwara State Government.
But the chairman of ACN, Kwara State chapter, Mr. Kayode Olawepo questioned Maku’s assessment of projects in the state.
He said, “Maku’s gaffes
are legendary, resulting in the Senate recently calling for his
resignation. We note that nearly all the projects that he inspected in
Kwara were projects already concluded before Jonathan became president.
Yet he toured them in the spirit of good governance.
“With well over N50bn
collected as allocation since May 2011, how many projects has the Ahmed
government completed to deserve a pass mark? How many green (new) roads
has he built to open up the state? How many new healthcare centres has
he built? How many people has his administration lifted out of endemic
poverty? What is the quality of education in Kwara? Is Kwara anywhere
near the MDG?
“Beyond scandals upon
scandals such as CBN blacklist, burglary in the Ministry of Finance
during which documents were stolen; failure to pay workers’ salaries for
three months; and flood that has rendered thousands homeless and
destroyed people’s means of decent living, while the government does
nothing, can Maku and his co-travellers point to one genuine thing of
pride that has brought Kwara under Ahmed to the limelight?” Olawepo
said.
In the same vein, the
National Vice-President, CDHR, Mr. Taiwo Otitolaye, said the states tour
was another jamboree of the Peoples Democratic Party. He stated that
Nigerians knew their environment more than any minister did, alleging
that Maku only made pronouncements that were different from the reality
on the ground.
“Maku has forgotten his antecedents. The
praise song for the Kwara State Government on projects is hypocrisy,
formulated lies, inconsistent with the work done by Ahmed,” he said
