The Kwara State PDP Campaign Council has described the suspension of the state secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mustapha Salman Ishowo, over financial fraud, as a testament to the fact that Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq government and his party are embodiments of corruption and profligacy.
In its reaction, the HOD Newmedia for Campaign council, Comrade Sholyments Olusegun Olusola, described the suspension of Alhaji Mustapha Isowo as a reflection of what AbdulRazaq-led government represents, noting that the suspension of Ishowo by the APC further exposed the rot and financial recklessness that the present administration in the state is notoriously known for.
Olusola, on Tuesday, also called on the party to extend disciplinary sanction to Governor Abdulrazaq and the party chairman, Sunday Fagbemi.
Additionally, the council also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on the activities of the administration since it came on board in 2019.
The statement reads: “the suspension of Alhaji Mustapha Salman Isowo, the APC Secretary in Kwara State, who’s doing the bidding of his paymaster, Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq, does not come as a surprise to us.
“For quite some time now, we have consistently bring it to the public domain, the various underhand dealings the government has been doing to siphon Kwara taxpayers’ resources and rob the people of dividends of Democracy.
“We have no doubt in our mind that Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq would go down in history as the worst in terms of scamming the people by doing the opposite of what he promised.
“It is quite unfortunate that the governor with his cronies are engaging in unprecedented and reckless looting of the state resources. Indeed, the insincerity of the government is nothing but mind-boggling.
“Aside financial recklessness, the foundation of Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq’s emergence is brewed with certificate forgery allegation; this has become subject of several court litigations. This is an integrity question that the Governor is yet to provide insight for, as a public officer since he came on board.
“Aside this, numerous are the reports, indictiing Abdulrazaq and his secretcult-like government of misappropriation and mismanagement of public fund. Is it not insanity to have raised the domestic debt of the state from N59.5bn in 2019 to around N150bn within three and half years of his government with nothing to show for this borrowing? Aside this, Abdulrazaq is alleged to have accessed close to N500bn in revenue since 2019, yet there is no physical project that is done with such fund.
“The Governor, on behalf of the state, also accessed #14bn from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the money which is supposed to be collected within a space of seven years, yet there has been no new educational projects in the state, saved for few schools he has been painting to deceive the people and corner the fund.
“Abdulrazaq and his party have turned Kwara to a cash cow, which they are milking at will. Kwarans are still nursing the injury from the disappearance of over N138million transformer fund which was fraudulently paid to a contractor whose surname is Abdulrazaq. Up till today, the contractor has not refunded our money while the law enforcement agents watch as toothless bulldogs.
“Additionally, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq approved a contract for the inflated sum of N360 million to renovate the Government High School, Adeta, Ilorin. The contentious contract was given to CONCEL Engineering, a portfolio company with its headquarters in Lagos and owned by Sola Braithwaite, a longtime friend of Governor Abdulrazaq.
“It should be noted that eight months after the ICIR-funded report in June 2022, the Kwara state government (KWSG) later admitted that the contract cost for the Ilesha Baruba-Gwanara road project was inflated by 751,551,647.22! This is an unprecedented fraud indictment against the government in recent time across the nation.
“Also in recent time, there is a social media report that elucidated how the Kwara State Government approached an undisclosed new generation bank to secretly transfer N500m from World Bank’s immunisation fund into private account of his foreign cronies. A report which the Governor refuses to explain why he decided to withdraw such slush fund without due process.
“We want to sound a clear note of warning to all commercial banks operating in Kwara state not to allow themselves be used or pressured to approve any shady transactions that may be coming from government house at this time, for all they do are being closely monitored for future accountability.
“We therefore submitted that the suspension hammered on Alhaji Ishowo is like plucking a leaf. Ishowo is only acting the bidding of the man who contracted him as the party secretary, unleashing disciplinary action against him on this case is a misplaced priority.”
“If the Kwara APC is truly ready to sanitised itself of corrupt people, it should begin by first indeitifying the Governor and the state party chairman, Sunday Fagbemi, who are the grand patrons and sponsors of all the Ishowos remaining in APC.
They should organise a press conference where they would formally apologise to people of Kwara for all the lies and propaganda the people have had to suffer under their four year of misrule.
We urge our people to be awaken as elections approach us, we must do away with these thieves who are pretending to be progressives, lest they embezzle the future of our generation, God forbids, should they be allowed beyond 2023.
