The recent National Good Governance Tour to Kwara State, spearheaded by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, has attracted divergent views.

Maku had visited federal and state government projects sites in the state penultimate week in company with the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, other Federal Government functionaries, members of the civil society and women groups.

The tour, which lasted three days, ended with a Citizen's Forum.

The team inspected the following projects: rehabilitation of the Lagos-Jebba-Kano rail with a train ride from Ilorin to Offa; Aviation College, Ilorin; Cargo Terminal, Ilorin, and Diagnostic Centre, Airport Road, Ilorin.

They inspected the irrigation dam at Eyenkorin and Shonga Farms. They also visited Michael Imoudu.

Maku, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Rasak Atunwa and other members of the team commended the idea of the tour and projects in the state.

But the Action Congress of Nigeria in the state and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, criticised the tour.

Maku said that the NGGT was meant to go round the 36 states of the federation, adding that it was a programme that involved the FG and the 36 governors in Nigeria.

He said that the project design involved the ministries of Information and National Planning and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Performance.

He said after the design of the project, it was taken to the National Economic Council to seek the partnership of the 36 governors and seek their inputs into the programme.

Maku claimed that all the governors in the federation supported it, adding that a committee was set up and chaired by the Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.

He said that the NGGT aimed to promote good governance and democracy. He stated that the tour is a continuous one and encouraged continuous discussion by all tiers of government and the people on better governance.

"The media must work to improve the image of the nation. There are projects going on and there are also challenges, I believe that we can discuss them vividly without ruining the image of the country," he said.

In his response, Ahmed called for greater synergy among the federal and state governments in capital project initiation and execution, adding that such would improve infrastructure provision for citizens.

Ahmed said there was the need for the projects to be implemented in such a way that the state government would take ownership since it is nearer the people and ensure sustainability, maintenance and longevity of the projects.

Atunwa, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Mohammed Gana, identified good leadership, vibrant and understanding members of the State House of Assembly, peace and the understanding and cooperation of the people as factors that had accounted for what he called development and growth in the state.

"If Nigeria must make progress, we must embrace peace. The Kwara government has made tremendous development because the people had been cooperating with the government.

"Agriculture is the platform for the development of this country. The FG has to give agriculture the attention that it deserves," he said.

President, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Muhammad Garba, represented by the NUJ Kogi State chapter chairman, Ali Atabor, said the NGGT had the possibility of showcasing the level of provision of democracy dividends.

He commended the initiative, adding, "Kwara State is on track. From the projects we saw, I think many of them are very germane to our people, especially Shonga Farms and the Aviation College. Shonga Farm is very important because if we are talking about the survival of democracy, food security is part of it."

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Nigerian Women Society, Mrs. Nkechi Mba, urged the state to pass a bill on the elimination of discrimination against women. She appealed to Ahmed to make budgetary provisions for the Office of the First Lady to enhance the development and welfare of women and children.

The National President of Road Transport Workers, Sunday Orojetoro, and the President, Transformation Movement Nigeria, Nwosu Emmanuel, commended the tour and the projects embarked upon by the federal and Kwara State Government.

But the chairman of ACN, Kwara State chapter, Mr. Kayode Olawepo questioned Maku's assessment of projects in the state.

He said, "Maku's gaffes are legendary, resulting in the Senate recently calling for his resignation. We note that nearly all the projects that he inspected in Kwara were projects already concluded before Jonathan became president. Yet he toured them in the spirit of good governance.

"With well over N50bn collected as allocation since May 2011, how many projects has the Ahmed government completed to deserve a pass mark? How many green (new) roads has he built to open up the state? How many new healthcare centres has he built? How many people has his administration lifted out of endemic poverty? What is the quality of education in Kwara? Is Kwara anywhere near the MDG?

"Beyond scandals upon scandals such as CBN blacklist, burglary in the Ministry of Finance during which documents were stolen; failure to pay workers' salaries for three months; and flood that has rendered thousands homeless and destroyed people's means of decent living, while the government does nothing, can Maku and his co-travellers point to one genuine thing of pride that has brought Kwara under Ahmed to the limelight?" Olawepo said.

In the same vein, the National Vice-President, CDHR, Mr. Taiwo Otitolaye, said the states tour was another jamboree of the Peoples Democratic Party. He stated that Nigerians knew their environment more than any minister did, alleging that Maku only made pronouncements that were different from the reality on the ground.

"Maku has forgotten his antecedents. The praise song for the Kwara State Government on projects is hypocrisy, formulated lies, inconsistent with the work done by Ahmed," he said.