I have just had an emergency security meeting with heads of various security agencies in the state. This is to assess the situation in the state.
Over the last few days, I had earlier met with the traditional rulers, opinion leaders, members of the student community, and many other stakeholders in the state.
Our observation is that what has happened so far today was not a protest. It cannot be defended under any guise.
It was a pure act of criminality. Some persons are hiding under the nationwide tension to commit crimes.
The government has a duty to protect law abiding citizens and their properties.
Lives are being threatened. Businesses are being looted. Public properties have been targeted. This is unacceptable. It is not who we are.
To curb these acts of criminalities, I hereby declare a 24-hour curfew in Ilorin metropolis from midnight today October 23rd, 2020. This is in line with Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the Public Order Act Chapter 382 Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.
People are urged to stay indoors in compliance with this curfew. This will be reviewed as we watch developments.
While the curfew is on, security forces have been placed on the alert to maintain strict compliance.
I urge citizens to comply by this declaration which is meant to protect lives and properties.
Finally, we apologise to our people and businesses that have been badly hurt. I urge them to be calm while we stop the criminality now.
Thank you.
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Our reality is that if we accede to the demands of the labour as they are, we will not be able to do any other thing other than paying workers. Our schools, like the Banni Community Secondary School which I visited today, have collapsed;
the basic health facilities need to be fixed; and we need to do much more for the rest of the population too.
We have a huge infrastructural deficit and we cannot spend 100% of our earnings on paying salaries.
The school I visited today is totally dilapidated like most schools in Kwara state. It is amazing that students learn inside here. Library is gone. The laboratory is gone. The roofs have largely been blown off.
SUMMARY OF MY MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI TODAY
1. I commended His Excellency, Mr. President, for his swift actions and efforts towards mitigating the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and reviving the economy through the approval of the Economic Sustainability Plan.
2. I appealed to Mr. President to continue to support our administration in delivering socio-economic development to the people of Kwara State.
3. We wished for Kwara to be part of the first beneficiaries of road construction and rehabilitation, support to MSMEs, land development for agricultural purposes, mass housing and rural electrification; which are approved initiatives under the COVID 19 intervention programmes.
I am saddened by the havoc wreaked on various households in Ilorin, the state capital, and indeed elsewhere across the state by yesterday’s heavy rain storm. I commiserate with those affected by it.
Informed by NIMET prediction of the incoming storm, I had visited NEMA and other Federal Agencies last week to seek special relief for Kwara.
On our part, we are immediately setting up a special disaster response team to collate data of areas affected and determine how the state government can offer support based on available resources.
We have approved the design of a new master plan for Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara State, decades after the first and the last one was designed by former military regime of the late Brigadier-General David Bamigboye.
A new master plan is necessary to allow for proper development, prepare for the future, and halt unplanned growth that is creating urban slums and other avoidable crisis of development in the city.
The committee for Offa/Oyun master plan is already in place and it’s working; the one for Patigi will start soon. Same for Lafiagi, Omu Aran, and others. All our major cities will get urban master plans so that we can organise the way we live and plan our infrastructure.
Earlier today, I met with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, in Abuja and we discussed various ways Kwara State can collaborate with the Ministry for the good of our state and our people.
Chief among the things we discussed is the ongoing preparation for seismic data acquisition in Edu and Pategi parts of Kwara state. It is an extension of similar preparatory works in the neighbouring Niger State.
We also talked about our request for the NNPC to support the construction of science laboratory for the Kwara State University (KWASU), expansion of the Oke Oyi LPG depot; and the construction of the Ibadan-Ilorin-Jebba gas pipeline,
Today, we launched Kwara State Health Insurance Scheme for residents of Kwara state.
We are starting this scheme by onboarding at least 10,000 of the extremely poor among our people. Their premiums have been fully paid. This means the health insurance is 100% free for them.
We hope to expand this and capture many more vulnerable people in the coming years.
A major agenda of this administration is to ensure that Kwara State ticks all the right boxes and achieves the SDGs by 2030. This is beyond empty slogans.
Yesterday, we began the disbursement of Owo Isowo to 21,623 petty traders under our social investment programme. The KWASSIP (@Kwarasip), which also includes safety nets for the aged and vulnerable, seeks to end extreme poverty in our state.