By Steve Oni, Ilorin
Kwara State government has disclosed that would key into various initiatives that would open up communities with the aim of lifting the people out of extreme poverty.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who stated this at the 25th Oyatedo Day celebration and launching of N25m for the town’s development projects, reiterated that his administration was irrevocably committed to developing the rural areas with access to basic amenities of life that would attract investments to the countryside, reduce rural-urban migration and encourage the youth to show more interest in farming and related vocations.
Governor AbdulRazaq said government would strengthen small and medium scale businesses with loans, train people in vocational skills, and lift as many people as possible out of extreme poverty.
To achieve this, the Governor who was represented by his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, said the administration’s Social Investment Programme, which bill has scaled through the House of Assembly, was designed to address issues of poverty, unemployment and destitution, adding that the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) and Kwara State Community and Social Development Agency (KWCSDA), which government had committed N200m and N60m respectively to as counterpart funds would go a long way to make funds available to provide basic infrastructure to Communities.
He said: “While RAAMP focuses exclusively on rural roads designed to facilitate our people’s access to market, the N60m counterpart funds for KWCSDA would give us over N1bn from the World Bank to implement micro-projects in various communities that express interest and pay 10% of whatever project to be sited there.”
Governor AbdulRazaq stated that under KWCSDA initiative, each community would benefit up to N10m project in the areas of health, education, water supply, infrastructural development, and gender/vulnerable group project empowerment.
The Governor noted “in addition, vulnerable and physically challenged are to benefit from micro-projects to be implemented through access to funds. This will help through skill acquisitions and support with tools for operation.”
He appreciated developmental initiatives championed by various communities, adding that the modest progress made as a State could be traced to relentless efforts by the people as the stories of most schools, water projects, and rural roads, he said, attested to this fact.
The Chairman of the occasion, Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi, commended the community for their selfless services and efforts to develop their area.
In his remarks, the Oloro of Oro-Ago Kingdom, Oba Johnson Olanrewaju Dada thanked the people for their unalloyed support to him and the government urging them not to relent.
Oba Dada urged the people to support and always pray for the government of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
The President of Oro-Ago Development Union, Engineer Tunji Kadir, commended the unity and oneness existing among the various communities in Oro land, charging indigenes of the area to contribute to the development of the kingdom.
The President of Oyatedo Community Development Association, Elder James Dada noted that the Community had been in the fore front of executing self help projects which include road maintenance, health care, water supply and educational projects, adding that funds realised at the occasion would be channeled to areas that need serious attention in the community.
The Chairman Central Planning Committee of the 25th Oyatedo day celebration, Dr Jide Olaniyan thanked the State government for its support adding that the Oyatedo day celebration began in 1994 as a forum to raise funds for the execution of developmental projects, assuring all that funds realised would be used for developmental projects that would benefit the people.
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