The administration of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State was branded the continuity government because Ahmed was a commissioner in the erstwhile administration of Dr.  Bukola Saraki. How has it fared in the last two years?

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed was not only a member of Saraki's cabinet, he was an influential member, in charge of highly strategic ministries, first as Commissioner for Finance for more than seven years and, in the twilight of the then administration, Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development playing very key role in policy development and implementation especially as it relates to the state economy.

So the continuity mantra that recurrently bursts forth among the insiders in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other keen political observers in the state cannot be said to be out of place.

Retrospectively, Ahmed's journey into Ahmadu Bello way Government House was not too smooth unlike his predecessors. For over three decades, the late strongman of Kwara politics and Second Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki was the godfather practically installing virtually all the civilian governors that the state produced since inception. From Adamu Attah, Cornelius Adebayo, late Mohammed Lawal and lastly his son, Bukola Saraki, all the former governors rode on Saraki's back to actualize their ambitions.

But things fell apart in 2011 when the late Saraki wanted his daughter, Senator Gbemisola Saraki to become the first female governor and he was implacably opposed by the junior Saraki, the then out-going governor. The political dynasty was no longer at ease as Oloye (as Saraki is fondly called among his admirers) floated another party, the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) to challenge his son.

Though the PDP won the April, 2011 gubernatorial election as Ahmed was declared the duly elected governor, it was a journey not too smooth. While the governor battled the challenge of a fastidious Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), he also faced a palpably internal challenge from the ACPN.

However, shortly after the election, there was a rapprochement among members of the Saraki's political empire and ACPN went into oblivion. The family once reunited and resolved to back the newly formed continuity government.

On assumption of office, Ahmed made a vow to consolidate on the gains of the previous administration and build on them towards achieving a greater Kwara. He developed his master plan under the shared prosperity initiative which encompasses the programmes and policies of his administration. While speaking at the 2013 New Partnership for Africa Development, NEPAD, (Kwara State) Business and Investment Development Interactive session, the governor said two years after, that he had been able to fulfill his electoral promises to the people. He listed his achievements to include youth employment through the Kwara Bridge Empowerment Scheme (KWABES), provision of free education up to secondary school level, reduction of tuition fees in the state-owned institutions, construction of 400 classrooms, electrification of 189 communities, provision of transformers for 133 communities, construction of five general hospitals, among others.

More vital are the capital projects inherited from previous administrations which the government said it had completed. They included the Advanced Diagnostic Centre, the Aviation College, and a number of road projects.  While briefing newsmen on the mid-term celebration, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr. Amuda Kannike disclosed that Ahmed's administration inherited 28 ongoing road projects out of which 11 have been completed and by May this year, additional 11 would have been completed while the remaining six would be completed by the end of 2013.

He added that the government awarded 38 new projects out of which eight have been completed and 14 "are being projected for completion by May this year while the remaining 16 would be completed by the end of 2013".

From 2011 till date, over N11bn has been expended on  road projects while N2.4bn was spent on rural roads, he said, adding that the various projects were done in line with the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) developed at a retreat organised after the election.      

Speaking at the press briefing heralding the May 29 anniversary, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold said in the last two years, the administration "has not only delivered on its pledge to ensure continuity in all aspects of governance but is continuously creating prosperity for all stakeholders in Project Kwara through vital socio-economic projects".

He said resources has however been a major constraint. "We have on average N2.35bn from the federation account and on average N800m from our internally generated revenue; that is about N4bn monthly...If you want to look at value for money, Kwara state has done exceptionally well", said the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Tunji Moronfoye.

The opposition parties in the state however disagree with this position, saying the touted achievements of Ahmed's government in the last two years have only been seen on the mass media. The ACN governorship candidate in the 2011 election, Mr. Dele Belgore said in response to the recent appointment of canvassers by the PDP that if the PDP's achievements had been visible or felt by the people, it wouldn't need any canvasser to sell its programmes.

In a statement by his media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye, "Were those achievements felt and seen by the public, would PDP need anyone to mouth them? That is an unintended admission of failure. By asking canvassers to intimate prospective voters of the ‘achievements' of its government, it is clear that such achievements exist only in the imagination of the PDP and its government.

"If the government had indeed done the things it claimed to have done in cities and villages across Kwara, the people will not need a PDP canvasser to tell them about things they can see and feel themselves.

"In a nutshell, the PDP just confirmed our position that its achievements exist only on the pages of newspapers, radio jingles and doctored TV documentaries. Hence the need for specially-anointed canvassers to tell the public what the PDP government has done."

Toeing the same line of thought, a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the state, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman said in the last two years, no concrete achievement can be attributed to the government.

He said, "I've not observed any concrete development either physically or in the area of physical development, human, material or infrastructural, there has not been any serious initiative, clear-cut departure from the past. I have not seen any serious education policy that it has put in place to transform our education.

"The other area one can say perhaps there is slight improvement is in the area of health and that of health too is not a clear-cut departure when you talk of renovation of hospitals, you observe that the money spent to renovate these hospitals is enough to even build new ones".  

But the state PDP Secretary, Prince Yemi Afolayan lashed out at critics of the PDP government, insisting that the party has delivered dividends of democracy to the people and it would not rest on its oars.

 "The PDP as a party believes in the supreme reasoning that source of power rests solely with the people and the party has never relented or rested on its oars rather has jealously and religiously showed commitment in ensuring the link with the grassroots is sustained and maintained", he said.

Afolayan emphasised that only a clown will claim ignorance of many achievements of the PDP administration in the state.

Though, the government claims it has in the last two years, been able to consolidate on the gains of the previous administration and opened up new frontiers of achievements, analysts believe the government has to do more to meet the rising expectations of populace.