A scholar and chairman of Kwara State Muslim lawyers, Dr Abdulkadir Ibrahim Abikan, has said Kwara State deserves new set of leaders for it to witness meaningful growth and development.

Abikan said this in Ilorin, while speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the Kwara Development Advocacy Group.

The meeting, tagged "Towards building a Viable Nation: A Collective goal," was aimed at bringing people with different views and ideas on how to move the state forward, in particular, and the nation in general.

Abikan said only those ready to rescue the nation were supposed to lead, not the current crop of leaders who he accused of pursuing their selfish interests. He said: "Kwara must move on and before then, some leaders must go. We should find people with common sense of purpose to move our state forward. We have historical and constitutional challenges. We also have uneven distribution of wealth. Kwara has problem of leadership.

"Thank God Nigeria is gradually overcoming leadership tussle but we need to do the same thing to save Kwara from crumbling."

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts, and urged Nigerians to support him to take the country to the next level.