By Odun Edward
The recent visit to Kwara State by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu to commission some landmark projects executed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq has ended criticisms by the opposition parties that no project had been commissioned by his administration.
One of the criticisms against Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq by the opposition parties in Kwara State was the non-commissioning of “any project” since his assumption of office. But the negative impression was confined to the dustbin of history when the wife of President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, visited the 58 years old state on the invitation of the governor between January 28 and 30, 2025, and commissioned about 10 major projects built by the administration. The list was not exhausted as other projects are ongoing with the expansive 10-storey building of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Services (KWIRS) becoming a reference point.
The monumental projects, named after some iconic Nigerian personalities, mostly of Kwaran descent, dwarfed the initial criticisms by some Kwarans. However, the critics, rather than acknowledge the governor’s efforts, held the position that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than his wife should have paid the working visit to the state “if there was no love lost between the governor and the president.”
The kennel of the commissioning was the opening of two overhead bridges – one at the Tanke end of the state capital to decongest the route to the University of Ilorin and the other at Unity Roundabout .
On the entourage of the First Lady were the wives of the Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief of Staff to the President and the wives of some state governors.
Senator Tinubu’s first point of call was the Kwara State University of Education, where she inaugurated the ICT Community Centre built under her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Intensive Care Unit, and Dr. Amuda Aluko Ward, among others.
She then paid homage to the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari at his palace. The Emir applauded her for her unflinching support to her husband’s government. He led a prayer session for the success of the administration. The visitor thanked the Emir for his encouragement to both the President and the state governor, appealing for more of such in future.
Thereafter, she inaugurated the newly constructed Unity Flyover, which Governor Abdulrazaq named after the emir, an honour anchored on his support for the administration, his peaceful reign, his fatherly role in the emirate and beyond, and his support for the socio-economic development of Ilorin.
Along with the ICT Centre built under the RHI at the Kwara State University of Education, Tinubu also inaugurated the ultramodern Intensive Care Unit, Executive Ward, and Gen. Tunde Idiagbon Flyover.
She also inaugurated other iconic projects of the governor such as the Innovation Hub; Visual Arts Centre; and the Garment Factory – all reputed to be the best of their kinds in the country and African sub-region.
Speaking at the inauguration of the ICT Centre, Mrs. Tinubu commended the governor and his wife for building it, expressing belief that youths and women would benefit from it.
She said: “I have been informed that these centres have greatly benefited our youths, especially women and girls, by providing invaluable opportunities for growth and empowerment. I am glad to hear about the success stories and the opportunities these centres afford members of these various communities that have benefitted from this intervention.
“The knowledge of ICT serves as a significant tool to empower communities, especially women, to break traditional barriers and access new opportunities by equipping themselves with ICT skills.
“So far, NITDA has constructed four Community ICT Centres in total. This centre we are commissioning today is the second, while Benue and Oyo centres are ready to be commissioned soon.
“Other Digital Economy Centres have also been fully equipped with computers and other ICT materials in five states, namely Jigawa, Ebonyi, Cross River, Oyo, Niger, and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Ten additional Digital Economy Centres in Abia, Edo, Delta, Ondo, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Yobe, and Zamfara are also being fully equipped with ICT materials and will be ready for commissioning soon.”
In her remarks, Mrs. AbdulRazaq said the new edifice would speak to the many engagements and partnerships of the First Lady to adequately support Nigerians while pursuing their goals and seeking to improve their means of livelihood.
She, therefore, enjoined the host school and users alike to protect the facility and take full advantage of its services towards developing themselves and promoting positive causes.
“While this milestone will continue to up the status of women, youths and other users of the facility, it is also creating pathways into making Nigeria a digitally empowered nation as well as fostering a technology enabled equitable future for all Nigerians,” she said.
On his part, the governor appreciated President Tinubu and the First Lady for what he called “an impactful initiative.”
He said the ICT project would not just be an investment in infrastructure but also a powerful statement about the essential role of technology in man’s survival and progress in the digital era.
He added: “Technology is here to stay, and the only path forward is to aggressively invest in the skills and infrastructure that will secure a prosperous future for our people.
“As we commission this ICT Community Centre today, I extend our heartfelt appreciation to Her Excellency and the Renewed Hope Initiative for this remarkable investment in our community and youth.”
Besides, AbdulRazaq commended the unwavering support of the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, towards realising the set objectives.
At the Innovation Hub, a facility that is designed to be Kwara’s version of the Silicon Valley to raise generations of techies and build skills that resolve local developmental challenges, Tinubu said: “I am so, so glad with what I have seen. This is truly amazing, and I am going back to tell the President what I have seen. You (governor) are a man truly in love with your people. You have really done so well.
“What I have seen here is borne out of a clear dream about where the governor wants his people to be. This dream is coming alive. We can stay here forever. You have enough projects to showcase, and I am indeed very proud of you.”
Tinubu ended her three-day visit to Kwara with a tour of the Garment Factory, another signature project of the governor.
She interacted with workers of the factory, telling them to make the most of the foresight of the governor by working hard.
“What your governor has done is to create opportunities for enterprise and productive engagement of youths and women. I want you to work hard and become successful. I’m here purposely to encourage you to make this a huge success for yourself and for your state,” she said in Yoruba language.
She later gave the hundreds of workers a stipend of N20,000 each.
The state Chairman of the PDP, Babatunde Mohammed, described the naming of some of the edifices after the personalities as good but faulted the governor for acting as if he was the one that built all of them from the scratch, particularly the stadium.
“Credit must go to Innih and such ex-governor Bukola Saraki who carried out major renovations on the edifices and turned them all to modern event centres,” he said.
Besides, he criticised the leaving out of the doyens of Kwaran politics like the late Olusola Saraki, Chief Sunday Olawoyin, and Chief Cornelius Adebayo from the list of those that the projects were named after.
However, the APC chairman in the state, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, said Mohammed was putting up “destructive criticisms against what they could not do when in power for 16 years but which we have successfully done under a period of six years. We still have many other projects under construction. In fact, many of them are nearing completion as we speak. Many deserving Kwarans will still benefit from the naming processes.”
However, a chieftain of the APC in the state, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, has criticised the governor for allegedly concentrating projects in the metropolis instead of spreading them across all the senatorial districts in the state.
Oyedepo said: “The visit of the First Lady to Kwara should now be an eye opener to her to observe what some of us had been saying for some years. Our major concern is that projects are being over concentrated in the state capital. We have three senatorial districts in Kwara so how do we develop other districts if this is the way we always want to follow? So certainly, some people are being neglected.”
Another chieftain of the party, Chief Wole Oke, supported some of the views expressed by Oyedepo, describing them as those of the majority of the party members in the state.
He advised the governor to use his remaining years in office to spread development to other areas of the state.
