By Ibrahim Sheriff (Gold)
The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said the incompetence and lack of foresight of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was responsible for the drastic decline in the State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for year 2020, as reported by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
A new report on ‘IGR Growth of states’ released by the NBS revealed that from 3rd position in 2019, 4th position in 2018, 5th position in 2017 and 3rd position in 2016, Kwara is 35th on the IGR Growth Table, out of the 37 sub-nationals.
According to the report, Oyo, Ondo, Enugu and Osun states have all overtaken Kwara on the IGR table as Kwara generated a total of N19.6 billion in 2020 against the N31billion it realised in 2019 under the immediate past PDP administration of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.
The Kwara PDP, In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Tunde Ashaolu recalls that former Governor Ahmed through his ingenuity, reformed Kwara’s IGR collection and management system that led to a rapid improvement in the State’s internal revenue growth, which saw Kwara ranked among few most financially sustainable and economically viable states in the country.
“It is however unfortunate and depressing that his successor, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has in less than two years, failed to sustain the laudable legacy left by Governor Ahmed. This is a clear manifestation of his sheer administrative incompetence, lack of foresight and laid-back attitude to and poor understanding of governance.”
“The latest report by NBS shows that Kwara’s IGR has declined by more than 50 per cent which is an indication that rather than progressing, the State is retrogressing economically under Abdulrazaq. What is more worrisome is that there appears to be no hope as the Governor is bereft of innovative ideas to grow the State’s economy and consequently improve its IGR rating.”
The PDP also said the alarm raised by the national body of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) that Governor Abdulrazaq is diverting local government funds did not come as a surprise.
“The Kwara PDP notes that the diversion of LG funds by Governor Abdulrazaq is the main reason he has failed to conduct council elections in the State. Instead, he has appointed his cronies as transition committees, an arrangement that will enable to continue to misappropriate the councils’ funds for as long as he wants.”
