• Says PDP set own legacy projects for collapse

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state says history will remember Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, a patriot, as the Federal Government announced on Friday the inclusion of Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre, Ilorin, among the health facilities to be upgraded across the country.

In a statement in Ilorin on Saturday, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Folaranmi Aro, said it was unique of the Governor who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) to push for the upgrade of the health facility despite it being one of the projects initiated by the former administration in the state, thereby saving it from extinction.

*lAlhaji Folaranmi Aro added that the facility had been set up to fail like many of their other legacy projects including Cargo terminals, Shonga Farm Holdings, and phantom water reticulation due to alleged pervasive corruption and greed by former leaders who had merely used the projects to milk the treasury, without proper funding. He also noted that the health facility never declared profit and did not remit a single kobo to the coffers of the state since it commenced operation in 2013.

He said: “The inclusion of HADC for upgrading is a plus to the administration. It further credentialed Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a patriot who puts humanity over politics. The Governor would never let any project go to rots because he values public funds and prioritises the welfare of the people.

“This distinct selflessness was one of the reasons the people trust and respect him as their leader. It is also a reminder of why the PDP have now been rejected in two election cycles and they can’t be trusted with power ever again. They are unrepentant abusers of privilege.

“The government is patriotically making that place a hub of medical diagnosis. The same complex is housing the Cancer Centre which this administration attracted. The choice of the facility to house the FG initiative is at the instance of the Governor who, unlike Bukola Saraki who killed the legacies of his predecessors in an effort to make Kwara his serfdom, has continued to protect all public investments since 1967.

“That is the action of a patriot, unlike the little minds who feel that carving the state in their own image is the way to build a legacy.

“Kwara PDP may be shameless that majority of their legacy projects crumbled and were buried even in the life of the dynasty. What Kwarans will not accept is an attempt to rewrite the history and ungratefulness to the man who is fixing their mess.

“Governor AbdulRazaq-led* administration inherited collapsed machines and backlogs of obligations at the diagnostic centre. He injected funds for its revitalisation to procure new machines as well as repaired some existing ones in both the laboratory and radiological sections of the centre. The list of machines included Auto Chemistry Analyser, FIA Meter Plus, 2-Channel Coagulation Analyser, Electrolyte Analyser, Haematology Analyser (5-part), and Electrophoretic Machine. The CT Scan 16 Slice Machine and Mammography Machine, Fluoroscopy Machine, X-ray Machine and Ultrasound Machine were all repaired. On top of these, the outstanding salaries of staff during the operational downtime of the centre were also cleared all in a bid to save another mismanaged public facility from extinction.”

While thanking President Bola Tinubu for the positive collaboration with the administration in the state, Aro said the new investment by the federal government at the centre complement the renewed efforts of the administration to deepen access to health and affordable healthcare services for people of the state.