The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has announced the federal government’s approval of the construction of the Kishi-Kaiama Road. He explained that the state had previously taken over the road’s construction in stages to improve transportation issues along the major route. The Federal Ministry of Works has made it known to the state government to cease construction on that road as they have received new approval from the Federal Government reissued at a contract price of N27 billion.
According to AbdulRazaq, there is a significant infrastructure gap across Nigeria, Kwara State and particularly in the North. As a government, we need to respond to the circumstance. He disclosed this at the first Kwara North Economic and Development Summit organized by the Kwara North Development Council (KWANDCO), held in Ilorin. Due to the magnitude of commerce in agricultural goods, as the Emir of Lafiagi said, the Kishi-Kaiama route is crucial for the whole nation.
State administration assures more development to come.
As stated by the ministry, the contract for the road was first awarded to the former state government over ten years ago, mobilized with a contract price of N600 million. The Governor further stated that construction on the Bode-Saadu-Kaiama-Kosubosu road will commence in the first quarter of 2023, saying that the project would be funded by the BUA Group Tax’s Road tax infrastructure program. Most of the state’s major roads are federal roads and are in terrible condition like the Share-Patigi road and Ilorin-Kabba Road.
AbdulRazaq has also assured the people of the state that his administration is gradually building one-two kilometers of roads across the state to ensure that infrastructure gets to every corner of the state and reduces travel time. He further says the administration will henceforth from the next budget and improve on the specifications of the state roads to make them last longer. The administration plans on adopting compacted laterite, stone base, and asphalt structure for a stronghold road compared to the compacted laterite and asphalt structure used before which has proven not to last long like the Ilesha-Baruba-Chikanda road.
The Emir urged for PPCP, the public cooperation.
Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) which is scheduled to start in 2023, is anchored with the objective of facilitating the flow of agricultural products from rural regions to urban centers as part of the state’s infrastructure development to evacuate agricultural produce. The governor said all arrangements have been made to implement the project. Senator Sadiq Umar (Kwara North) praised Abdulrazaq’s administration for its inclusivity, equality, and justice in distributing resources to reach even the remotest communities for development.
The Emir of Lafiagi, Muhammad Kudu Kawu, has advocated for a Public Private Communal Partnership (PPCP) to be formed between the government, the private sector, and the communities in Kwara North in order to inject significant amounts of investment and thereby stimulate economic development in the region. He said that it was difficult for the government to implement all necessary infrastructure projects, and as a result, there is a need for participation and honesty on the side of the population as well.
Agricultural sector should be advocated in Kwara North.
Emir of Ilesha Baruba Prof. Halidu Abubakar, who spoke on “Embracing knowledge economy for sustainable economic development in Kwara North: The Urgency of Now,“highlighted the agriculture sector as an “Easy Target” for implementing the knowledge economic model in Kwara North. He argues that cooperation between governments, civic societies, politicians, and NGOs is essential for the success of the knowledge economy. While the suggested model has a lot of potential, it is also plagued by several significant obstacles, many of which will have a detrimental effect on the introduction of a knowledge economy if they are not addressed in advance.
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