Our Projects Will Make Kwara an Economic Hub – Gov AbdulRazaq
By Rafiu Ajakaye
Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on Tuesday visited the sites of some of his legacy projects, including the talk-of-the-town Innovation Hub, which is receiving finishing touches ahead of its public unveiling.
The Governor said the objectives for the huge projects are to build a new ecosystem that makes Kwara a go-to place in Nigeria and build an economy that benefits the people and further elevates the state.
Governor Abdulrazaq was responding to a media enquiry requesting him to explain the huge investments on projects such as the garment factory, international conference centre, visual arts centre, innovation hub, film factory, shea butter factory, Patigi Motel, remodelled civil service clinic, and a multi-storey courthouse, and a few others.
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“Our focus is to build an ecosystem that projects our state to the world and make us more attractive. The rebuilding of the civil service clinic, for instance, is part of our efforts to strengthen the healthcare delivery system,” he told reporters on the sideline of his visit to the clinic now undergoing massive reconstruction.
The Governor had also visited his other legacy projects such as Kwara Hotel, Ilorin International Conference Centre, and Ilorin Innovation Hub.
The Governor said making good healthcare services accessible to the people has become a national priority, adding that the government is committed to making Kwara a shining example.
“This is deepening healthcare at the secondary level, just like we are doing at the basic level. You have seen that there has been a lot of emphasis on primary healthcare by all tiers of government in terms of making sure that we deliver good healthcare services to the people,” he added.
“We are rebuilding and expanding the Civil Service Clinic to be a major referral centre at the secondary level. We’ve converted the Ilorin General Hospital to a University Teaching Hospital. Sobi Specialist Hospital will become Al-Hikmah University Teaching Hospital, and the Omu-Aran Hospital will become Thomas Adewumi University Teaching Hospital. So, we have a long way to go. This is a major step we are taking here now. It is a big investment.”
AbdulRazaq said the administration is making huge investments across key sectors to create an ecosystem and make the state a place to go.
“Our focus is to create an ecosystem that makes Kwara State a place to go. For every single thing you want to do: entertainment, healthcare, tourism, conferencing, Kwara will be a place to go,” the Governor said.
“By next December, you will see a flood of people coming to Kwara. We want to have an airport with four flights or more coming in and four flights or more going out. So we are repositioning the kwara state to be where it used to be in the 1st Republic. Our journey is a long one, but we will maintain our strides in that journey.
“And things are already taking shape. For example, the Innovation Hub is 99 per cent complete. But we are not just going to have an innovation hub that will not be functional. We are speaking to the right partners: IHS has come on board with us. It is a programme worth over 10 billion naira. We are looking at several billions of naira to be invested here over the next 10 years.
“Our target is to have five unicorns in ten years. That will be a major gain. This is going to be a standard for Africa. Watch that space; there is nothing like this in Africa. And we are going to bring the major companies in.”
