Date: 2019-01-23

The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, says his administration has placed Kwara State on a strong and sustainable platform through targeted reforms and people-centred policies.

Reacting to his emergence as Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year 2018, Ahmed said his administration has achieved this feat through revenue reforms at the Kwara State Internal Revenue that have not only enabled funding of major infrastructure but also placed the state in a position to meet basic obligations from internal revenue on a sustainable basis.

According to him, the administration has also strengthened public confidence in governance by completing inherited projects, ground-breaking and completing new ones, including several that are also currently ongoing across the state and are funded through the innovative Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund.

He pointed to KWIR'S emergence as the only state revenue agency in Nigeria to achieve ISO certification while growing the state's internal revenue as further evidence that the administration was on the right path in overhauling its internal revenue process. Alhaji Ahmed said his administration's policies in health, SME funding and functional education have provided Kwarans with the opportunity to economically empower themselves and their families while ensuring their well-being.

Ahmed also emphasised his administration's commitment to families, women, children and indeed all Kwarans based on his determination to transform the state, elevate its people and leave Kwara State better than he met it. Earlier, Governor Ahmed had dedicated the award to the women and children of Kwara State. Speaking while receiving the award from General Ike Nwachukwu, former Foreign Affairs Minister, at the event, which held in Lagos over the weekend, Governor Ahmed, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said his administration has always prioritised women and children having recognised them as a major component of the population.

Governor Ahmed said his programmed emphasis on health and education has translated into Kwara State having the lowest infant mortality rate in Nigeria, among other strides.