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In preparation for the 2025 budget, the Kwara government has rounded off its engagement with citizens across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The engagement, which had in attendance representatives from Kwara South, Kwara North, and Kwara Central, was initiated to obtain inputs from the people of each senatorial district before documentation of the year’s appropriation bill and submission to the state House of Assembly for approval.
While the three days of citizens’ engagement for Kwara North were held in Baruten Local Government, that of Kwara South and Kwara Central took place in Oke-Ero Local Government and Ilorin South Local Government, respectively.
A government house statement made available to the press on Sunday said that the state Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development, Lafia Kora-Sabi, said the forum was to bolster the economic and infrastructural growth of the state.
He explained that the event was about the people at the grassroots level, espousing their developmental expectations to be captured in the 2025 budget.
Lafia noted that development can only be accelerated if the government prioritises the needs of the people, saying that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has made it a cardinal policy to engage the citizens at the local level since his assumption of office to engender an inclusive government.
He called on the people to ventilate their views freely and assured them that their requests would be captured in the 2025 budget for implementation.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Appropriation in the state House of Assembly, Fatimah Lawal, expressed delight at the large turnout for the event, saying that Governor AbdulRazaq has continued to break boundaries in his strides to uplift the people and the state.
Also speaking, a member of the State House of Assembly representing Ilorin South Constituency, Hajia Maryam Aladi, urged the participants to take full advantage of the opportunity to make their requests.
Meanwhile, the Chairmen of the Local Government Areas across the three Senatorial districts took their turns to appreciate the state government for setting a standard that would help foster inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, and participation in governance.
They promised that their administration would complement the state government efforts in bringing succour to the people at the local level.
The state Director of Budget, Alhaji Shamsideen Aregbe, who presented the State’s Budget performance, reiterated the commitment of the state government toward providing succour to the yearnings of the people through budgetary provisions for programmes and projects that would impact positively their lives.
He noted that indices showed that the state’s budget performance has been impressive and commendable.
Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers in the Kwara North, the Emir of Okuta, Alhaji Abubakar Idris, expressed gratitude to Governor AbdulRazaq for his commitment to sustaining the growth of the state, which he started in 2019.
He described the citizens’ engagement as a remarkable policy, saying that he had never seen any government do it before.
The Alofa of Iloffa, Oba Samuel Niyi Dada, who spoke on behalf of the traditional rulers in the Kwara South, posited that the forum was a viable approach to bridging the gap between government and the people.
He, however, requested the government to prioritize road rehabilitation and provision of agricultural inputs to support farmers in Kwara South as the region can help solve the challenge of food insecurity in the state.
On his part, the Balogun Fulani of Ilorin, Alhaji Sadik Atiku, commended the state government for institutionalizing the citizens’ engagement initiative and pleaded that the requests of the people should be reflected in the budget.
He, however, urged the government to beef up security in the vulnerable areas of the state, pointing out that rising insecurity was discouraging a significant number of youths from embracing farming.
Also, the youth leader in Kwara North axis, Abdullah Hamidu, implored the state government to provide Computer-Based Test Centers for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board exams in the Baruten-Kaiama axis of the State as most young students from the areas travel long distances to sit for the examination.
Speaking on behalf of the Civil Society Organizations, the Coordinator of Global Hope for Women and Children, Mrs Christie Ayobami-Oluwole, appreciated the Governor for what she described as an exemplary initiative of engaging the citizens that dated back to 2019 when he assumed office.
She urged the newly elected Local Government Council Chairmen to emulate the policy.
