Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has said he is not interested in building a political dynasty but in leaving a legacy of development.
AbdulRazaq, who is also chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), spoke on Tuesday at the state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ilorin.
He said his administration has invested in infrastructure, revenue reforms, education, healthcare and social security, adding that his successor will have the task of building on what has been achieved.
“Congratulations on our journey so far. Congratulations on being able to meet here peacefully and successfully today. I’ll give us a pass mark,” the Governor said.
“We are in the era of politics. If I may say so myself, I think we’ve done very well, exceedingly well. To the extent that I’ll say, over six years of our tenure have seen greater investments in infrastructure and across very important sectors than what we met. As you can see, opposition has collapsed nationally and especially in Kwara state. But we will not be complacent.
“We need to work harder and build on what we have achieved so far.”
He urged aspirants to remain calm as party primaries approach.
“Yes, there are challenges ahead and those challenges are about healthy competition because the party primaries will soon begin. I call for a healthy competition amongst us especially for those that will succeed. Those that succeed in picking party tickets, we wish them good luck and encourage them to carry along those that do not succeed. It should be one family,” he said.
Speaking about the party at the national level, he said “this party, being led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a party for all. You can see at the national level, governors, structures from other parties are collapsing into APC, because they believe this is the future, this is where we’re going.
“APC is the party that has a roadmap, that has a vision for a better Nigeria. Nationally, you can see that inflation has dropped, exchange rate is stabilising, GDP is improving, growth is improving. So the President is doing well.”
On his record in office, AbdulRazaq said “in terms of opposition, yes, they will make their politics, they will say all kinds of things to the people. But you have seen that since we came in, Kwara has taken a new turn, a turn for the better. So that’s why I don’t know what the opposition will campaign with.
“Is it about infrastructure, or about healthcare, or education? We’ve done exceedingly well. So, we will continue to do better. Like I’ve always said, we’re not here to build a dynasty. We’re here to build a legacy. And I pray for the person who succeeds me to do better than I have done for the good of our people. I have raised the bar; as a team, we have raised the bar.
“Our successors will raise it further each year and learn. So, I thank our party’s team from Abuja, who have come to coordinate this occasion. I also thank the observers from INEC.”
State APC chairman Sunday Fagbemi said the government has built 586 kilometres of road and hired 8,912 teachers since 2019, among other achievements.
Party leaders at the congress returned Fagbemi and other members of the state executive committee to their positions.
Chairman of the state congress committee Dr Alkali Alibe said the affirmation of the new leadership was in line with the party constitution.
“Kwara State has been consolidating politically under your leadership. People are happy under your stewardship as the executive governor of the state and we can see evidence of this in every part of the state we have been to,” he said.
