Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, weekend posted another first as he addressed residents of the state live on the first-ever radio station in Kwara North.
The Notia FM (90.7), a baby of the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation, is a project of his administration which the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has recently approved to begin transmission from Okuta town, Baruten.
Until now, residents of Kwara North could only listen to, or get the services of radio stations from either Benin Republic or Oyo State — a jinx the governor pledged to break.
“We thank Almighty God for this feat. I thank the people of Baruten and of Kwara North for their support for this administration. We are glad to have made this good history and impact in the lives of our people,” he said in a brief live interview conducted by the Director of Programmes at Radio Kwara (Midland FM 99.1), a sister platform of Notia FM.
The governor was accompanied on the inspection visit to the radio by Senator Umar Sadiq (Kwara North), Kwara Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, House of Assembly members, cabinet members and top chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He had earlier addressed a town hall meeting in Okuta, attended by top government officials, community leaders led by Emir of Okuta, Alhaji Dr. Idris Abubakar Sero, civic groups, members of the public, and APC apparatchiks from far and near.
“Whether in road infrastructure, education, health care delivery, or welfare of our workers and citizens, our administration stands shoulder high above where we are coming from,” he said with his speech punctuated by applause and chorus of ‘gema!’, the Batonu language for truth.
Governor AbdulRazaq also inaugurated the Kano road, which connects the Emir’s palace to Maro, a suburb of the big town.
His speech was preceded by commendations from Senator Sadiq, Speaker Danladi, and the first class monarch of Okuta, among others.
Cabinet members and heads of parastatals took turns to mention specific programmes and projects already done or are ongoing in Baruten, Kwara North, and across the state.
The Executive Secretary, Kwara State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Olubunmi Jettawo-Winter, said close to 2,000 indigents of Baruten Local Government have been enrolled in the state Health Insurance scheme.
The Acting General Manager, state Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP), AbdulQuowiyu Olododo, said between 2020 and 2022, a total of 4,540 people from Baruten and Kaiama Local Governments benefitted from the government’s safety net (Owo Isowo and Owo Arugbo), while six young entrepreneurs from the two tiers of government received N1 million each to support their businesses under the Kwaprenuour 2.0.
The Chairman, Kwara SUBEB, Prof. Sheu Raheem Adaramaja, said out of the 4,701 teachers the government recruited to teach in the public primary and secondary schools, Baruten Local Government got 371 slots, adding that their welfare remains a top priority.
The governor was then installed as the Yeruma of Okuta at the colourful Ganni Festival in the forecourt of the palace of Emir of Okuta.
The title means the ‘most prominent child of Okuta Kingdom’ — a reward for what the monarch called the governor’s unprecedented achievements in the area in terms of infrastructural development.
“You have been able to put smiles on the faces of the greater majority of Kwarans who are able to objectively make reasonable comparative analysis of where we were yesterday, as against where we are today,” the Emir said.
