Kwara opposition figure, Mohammed Dele Belgore SAN, has urged the Federal Government to tackle corruption genuinely and give Nigerians a sense of belonging and pride in the New Year.

Belgore, who was ACN governorship candidate in the 2011 poll, said in a New Year message that "the outgone 2012 cannot be said to be an eventful one for the people of Nigeria, be it in the areas of security, job opportunities, economic empowerment, power, road network and other basic infrastructure required to give citizens a sense of belonging and pride. To this end, the government needs to first of all admit these failures and then move in urgently to do the right thing in the New Year."
The senior advocate also admonished the PDP government in Kwara to "behave more responsibly and govern in the best interest of the people," warning that the "events of the outgone year have shown beyond doubt that Kwara people want genuine change and real socio-economic and political empowerment - not the window dressing that dotted the past years."

Saying Kwara lags behind in basic infrastructure and human capital development, Belgore criticised the Abdulfattah Ahmed-led government for presenting a 2013 budget where recurrent expenditure (N51b) exceeds capital expenditure (N42.6).  

The statement reads: "The outgone 2012 cannot be said to be an eventful one for the people of Nigeria, be it in the areas of security, job opportunities, economic empowerment, power, road network and other basic infrastructure required to give citizens a sense of belonging and pride. To this end, the government needs to first of all admit these failures and then move in urgently to do the right thing in the New Year. Corruption must be tackled head on and necessary things done to stem the tide of insecurity. To be sure, government must be accountable and transparent and run solely for the benefit of the populace, not just a tiny ruling clique whose greed, arrogance and insensitivity may explain the rising anger in the land.

"Back home in Kwara, the PDP government should behave more responsibly and govern in the best interest of the people. Events of the outgone year have shown beyond doubt that Kwara people want genuine change and real socio-economic and political empowerment - not the window dressing that dotted the past years. While our people are indeed peace-loving and unassuming, they cannot continue to endure lies being told in the name of governance.

"The state's 2013 budget, where recurrent expenditure (standing at N51b) exceeds capital expenditure (pegged at N42.6b), does not show a government in tune with the yearnings of the impoverished masses and global trend. And for a state clearly on the lower wrung of social, economic and human capital development, such budget estimate calls for worry by concerned citizens conscious of the dictate of the time and consequences of enriching a corrupt few at the expense of the majority of the populace. We hope the State Assembly would rightly raise issues with the budget estimates which we found to be ridiculous and run afoul of the government's much-ridiculed 'Shared Prosperity' mantra.

"Finally, we wish all Nigerians especially Kwarans a truly prosperous 2013."

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