For the incumbent governor of Kwara State and the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the forthcoming general elections, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed,his performance in office in the last four years is supposed to be enough testimonial to win the next gubernatorial  election.

Getting the ticket of his party for second term was premised on his impressive performance by the stakeholders.

This development  prompted the leader of the party in the state, Senator Bukola Saraki, to be left with no option than re-present him for the election.

For Ahmed, otherwise known as ‘’Maigida”, the foundation for his performance in office was the ”Legacy Continues”political slogan upon which he rode into office.

Since government is about continuum, ultimately,”The Legacy Continues”slogan was to mean the completion of all the ongoing projects of his predecessor, Saraki, and the initiation of new projects.

If impact is the measure of good governance, then the governor has excelled since becoming the sixth civilian governor of Kwara State in 2011.

From roads to education, agriculture, energy and healthcare, youth empowerment and SME promotion, Ahmed has made governance meaningful by delivering its benefits to the people.

Under Shared Prosperity programme of his administration, he has implemented several life transforming programmes such as the Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme, KWABES, under which the government has employed 5,000 youths including 2,000 civil servants.

Also, the Expanded Empowerment Scheme, QuickWin, has seen the engagement of 5,200 youths in the first phase with 8,200 youths targeted for empowerment in 2014.So far 10,200 youths have been employed by the government in the last three years. Also empowered are 50,000 small business owners,100 transporters and 47 artisan groups that have benefited from the N1billion micro-credit disbursed under the Kwara Entrepreneurship Scheme since 2012.Also empowered is the Kwara State Association of Marketers whose members are currently accessing another N100million in micro credit.

To underscore the importance attached by his administration to civil servants, Ahmed facilitated N3billion in car loan to civil servants especially teachers. This is on top of the welfare packages such as training and retraining, and provision of affordable housing and office accommodation implemented by the state government.

In the education sector, groundbreaking educational reforms have been upscaled and infrastructure enhanced with construction and rehabilitation of 400 classrooms at primary and secondary school levels, and the introduction of free education at senior secondary school levels and supply of free notebooks to secondary school students.

The jewel in the education sector’s crown, the International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo, is affiliated to the City and Guilds of London and poised to fill middle level manpower gaps while establishing Kwara as the hub for vocational skills in the sub-region.

Beyond accessibility, the quality of education is key and, for Ahmed, supporting schools with infrastructure, books, qualified teachers, quality instructions and curriculum is quite important. Huge government effort in the education sector has produced a conducive environment for learning leading to noticeable improvement in overall performances.

These include rehabilitation and upgrading of the Kwara State Education Resource Centre, Ilorin, establishment of City and Guilds-affiliated International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo, upgrading of 33 schools from Junior Secondary Schools to Senior Secondary Schools across the state, payment of NECO fess of Senior Secondary School students in pursuance of the free education policy in the state and establishment of 12e new nomadic schools.

Today, the citizens of Kwara drive on smooth, motorable well-lit roads because the aim of the administration in the road sector is to complete all inherited projects and establish new ones, especially since it is convinced that good roads will bring success to other sectors of the economy.

To start with, the state government embarked on massive rehabilitation of roads and construction of new ones. Ahmed, who believes in continuity, completed most of the roads he inherited from his predecessor, while others are ongoing. The priority given to roads shows that the sector is one of the cardinal points of the agenda of his administration.

Today, there is marked improvement in vehicular movement in many towns and villages in the state. And, an investment friendly environment such as this has brought forth an increase in investments into the state.

In the health sector, government has supplied drugs and equipment to 13 General Hospitals and 43 primary health centers as well as remodelled and modernized Ilorin, Offa, Omu-Aran, Share and Kaiama General Hospitals to state-of-the-art hospitals. The Community Health Insurance Scheme, under which enrollees receive year round healthcare for N500, has been extended to 80, 000 beneficiaries and has been adjudged as one of the most successful by the United Nations.

Towards meeting its target of ensuring connecting all communities in the state to the national electricity grid, Ahmed’s administration rural and urban electrification project has seen 400 communities connected to the national grid. Ilorin, the state capital, is especially more beautiful at night, thanks to the urban street light project that has been extended to several major streets in Ilorin metropolis.

To achieve its target of ensuring access to clean water within 500-meter radius, the state government has rehabilitated 17 waterworks across the state, sunk about 400 boreholes, and is at the verge of completing the Ilorin Water Reticulation Project, which will pipe water to all homes in the metropolis.

For these policies and programmes, Ahmed has won recognition from several quarters. These include Global Excellence Award for Best Governor in Northern Nigeria (2011), City People’s Best Governor, North Central 2011, and African Leadership Magazine’s Outstanding Agricultural Development Icon of the Year 2011, BusinessDay Best Governor in Agriculture 2013, City People Best Governor in Youth Empowerment 2013, NUT Best Governor in Education 2013, and HOG Governor of the Year 2013.

Without doubt, Ahmed’s people-oriented projects have touched every nook and cranny of Kwara.

In view of the foregoing, for the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, the April 11 election is a litmus test for the reward for good works   except the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Senator Simeon Ajibola, has a superior reason the electorate must vote for his party instead. Time indeed will tell.