THE Kwara State chapter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has criticised the state government for its planned procurement of additional aircraft for the College of Aviation, Ilorin.

The state, under Governor Abdufatah Ahmed had announced the planned purchase of 15 new aircraft for the college, in an effort aimed at boosting the standard of the school and make it compete favourably with the world best.

Although Ahmed was silent on the monetary implications of the purchase, the CPC opined that the planned procurement would not be healthy for the economy of the state as he puts the price of one aircraft at about N92 million. The party spoke through its state chairman, Suleiman Buhari.

However, the state's Commissioner for Information, Tunji Morounfoye described the CPC reaction as unfair and lacking in the knowledge of capital investment in a mono-dimensional economy of which Kwara State is one.

"We don't have many of this type of college in Nigeria. I think the one in Kwara is the second. We need to be proud of what the government of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has done and is doing in the college.

"The government of Dr. Bukola Saraki started the vision and since the present government is that of continuity, it has decided to upgrade the standard of the school. As a Kwaran, I am proud of this feat. People may not know the worth of what the government is doing to the state's economy now, but in the nearest future they will praise this vision," Morounfoye said.

According to Buhari, "the CPC wishes to express its outrage and indignation over the announcement by the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed that the state will in the next three months procure 15 aircraft for the Ilorin Aviation College in addition to the four diamond aircraft already in its fleet.

"As a party, we have fought back the temptations to always take on the state government on all its policy missteps. This is because we sincerely believe that like every other human being, the ruling elites are also naturally susceptible to mistakes and lapses, no matter how evitable. And that partly informed our resolve to constructively engage the government and its functionaries on issues that border on the welfare of the people of the state.

"As a party, which ideology centres prominently on prudent management of scarce resources, our anger and disappointment knew no bound when yesterday the governor announced to the world that the state was on the verge of purchasing 15 new additional aircraft for the Ilorin Aviation College. This is in addition to the four existing diamond aircraft valued in its naira equivalent at a whopping N92 million each, according to the website of its Australian-based manufacturing company, that are already on the fleet of the college."