The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2023 general elections in Kwara state, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi, has said that his administration will provide 20,000 jobs through cotton production if elected as governor.
In a chat with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Kwara state NUJ in Ilorin on Tuesday, the PDP governorship candidate said that his administration would perform differently from what was obtained to achieve better development for the state.
Alhaji Abdulahi, who said that the axis of Baruten and Kaiama local government areas of the state could boast of cotton production, added that the crop production business would be encouraged with the establishment of a ginnery to create jobs in the textile sector without the state government’s financial inputs.
He said that nothing stops the country from exporting cotton which he said can be grown in the Baruten/Kaiama axis adding, “As a matter of fact, that area has the same soil that can grow cotton, flower, and many other products that can be exported”.
The PDP governorship candidate said that plans he has on power generation would also make the cost of production of cotton to be competitive.
Giving further inklings as to his plans if elected governor, the PDP candidate said that with the abundance of natural resources and existing infrastructure like the state cargo airport, nothing stops the country from exporting cotton which can be grown in the Kaiama axis of the state.
“I have spoken to Chinese companies who will build generators powered by coal”, he further disclosed.
“There are only four airports in the country that has the quality of runaway we have on our airport,” he added.
“We have coal in abundance in nearby Kogi that can assist in power generation needed by the cotton clusters we intend to create.
“With that, we can make our product competitive and undercut illegal imports, provide jobs from which tax can be paid to the government,” he said
He also said that his administration would take advantage of natural resources in the state to stop what he called the rot among youth who he said are turning into political thugs.
The PDP governorship candidate said that a good leader should be creative, imaginative, and be a problem-solving personality.
He lamented over debt allegedly incurred by the present state government, saying that Kwara state is currently indebted to about N110 billion with a monthly repayment of about N1.3 billion.
According to him, the state is richly endowed with enough resources to create clusters of production for aggressive and productive youths in the state from which the state could exact tax to be plowed into the social infrastructure part of governance like education, health, and social security.
“It is not enough to go to Abuja every month to seek monthly allocation from oil to bring and spend in Kwara,” he said.
“A governor is elected to create more money from what is given to him; he is expected to be creative and not to borrow recklessly in such a manner as to plunge future generations into debt,” Yarman added.
He accused the APC administration in the state of gross incompetence, saying that it has refused to think outside the box, save and make Kwara prosperous as they promised back in 2019.
Yanan described his relationship with the former Senate President and a leader of the PDP in the state, Senator Bukola Saraki as very cordial stressing that he has had a relationship with him( Saraki) before he even became the governor of the state.
He cautioned Social media platform handlers to guide against cooking up fake news but rather, do investigative journalism so as not to put the country in chaos.
Dominica Nwabufo
very clear and good article easy to understand. Thank you