The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the time has come to retire the political oligarchs who have appropriated Kwara State and its resources to themselves to the detriment of the people.

He spoke while addressing the mammoth crowd that attended the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential rally in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, on Monday.

“It is time to retire those who have held Kwara State down and made our people and our state very poor. They have been deceiving the people. They have been blaming the federal government for their failure.

“'When they can’t pay workers salary, they blame the Federal Government. When they can’t provide infrastructure, they blame the Federal Government. They forgot to tell the people that Mr. President has graciously approved bailouts and Paris Club Refund for states, including Kwara. Ask them, where is the money? What did they do with it?” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed warned that voting the present crop of leaders in Kwara State into power again is like giving them another licence to embark of a looting spree, and urged the people to be wary of their Greek gift under the guise of offsetting workers’ salaries

“With elections approaching, their leader, I said their leader, NOT the State Government, suddenly brought out N2.5 billion from his kitty to pay workers. Where do individuals pay state workers? Where did the money come from? It is your money that they have been keeping. They have brought out some of it because they are desperate,” he said.

The Minister said the Buhari Administration has executed various infrastructural and social development projects in Kwara, listing them as including the rehabilitation of Ohan and Moro Bridges on Ilorin-Igbeti road; Construction of Patigi-Kpada road and the rehabilitation of Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa road, which used to be a nightmare for motorists.

He also listed the roads being rehabilitated or constructed to include the Ilorin-Kabba Obajana road; the Ajase-Ipo-Offa-Erin Ile-Osun state boundary; Kaiama-KIshi Road; Offa Bypass in Offa as well as the dualization of Michael Imoudu Ganmo/Afon junction road Ilorin

In addition, Alhaji Mohammed said about 50,000 Kwarans are benefitting from Tradermoni and Marketmoni, 9,886 homes in Kwara State are benefitting from the Conditional Cash Transfer that gives 5,000 Naira monthly to the most vulnerable while the Anchor Borrowers' Programme has seen the number of rice farmers in Kwara grow from 5,000 to 30,000.

He therefore urged the people of the state to vote for President Buhari, APC governorship candidate Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and all other APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.

The mega rally was attended by President Buhari, National Chairman of the APC Adams Oshiomhole, National Leader of the APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Osun State Governors Bisi Akande and Rauf Aregbesola, Ministers of Transportation as well as Interior, Rotimi Amaechi and Abdulrahman Dambazau respectively, and the APC governorship candidate in Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, among others.

•Photo shows Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; President Muhammadu Buhari; and Minister of Transportation/Director General Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, at the APC Presidential Campaign Rally in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Monday.

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