The Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State and the state government have expressed divergent views on the poor learning environment and provision of classrooms in schools in the state.
While the PDP said that the documentary video recently released by BBC on the state of some schools in the state exposed Gov Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq government’s insincerity and corruption in the running of his administration, the government said that the immediate past administration of Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed caused the rot in the schools as it failed to pay the State counterpart funds to the Universal Basic Education Commission for four years which denied the state of building new Classrooms in basic schools in the state.
The PDP in a statement signed by Olusegun Adewara, the state Publicity Secretary said that it strongly condemned the attempts by the APC government led by governor AbdulRazaq to intimidate the management of the BBC following the release of a documentary highlighting the deplorable state of education in Kankan LGEA School, Asa LGA of the state.
The statement partly said, “The documentary, produced by BBC, shed light on the appalling conditions faced by students, including learning under the trees and pupils sitting on the bear floor in dilapidated classrooms during lessons.
“The revelations in the BBC documentary uncovered almost five years of rot, corruption, scandalous thefts and gross mismanagement of public funds in Kwara’s education and other sectors of the state”,it said.Adewara in a statement released to Punch correspondent in Ilorin on Friday slammed Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for accessing UBEC fund in Billions for eight consecutive years (2014-2021), without telling Kwarans how much was received and how the fund has been appropriated and expanded for public scrutiny.
“Our Party, like every other concerned Kwarans , is highly disturbed that despite several media claims that government has invested over N14.2billion in basic schools across the state since 2020, Kankan LGEA School, just like many basic schools infrastructures are coming to deflate these propaganda and frauds plaguing our education system in Kwara.”We therefore demand publication of amount of Billions accessed from UBEC as counterpart funding for the year 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017…..2021 and how these funds have been appropriated for public scrutiny, and the Kwara People, on whose behalf these huge fund were accessed deserve to know how they are expended.
“We ask Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his government if they will also blame PDP administration for the shoddy job done on Tanke Bridge which has made the Bridge the most controversial government project in Nigeria and you commissioned since its renovation by Craneburg Construction LTD. Will they also blame PDP regime for how contractor employed by Governor Abdulrahman eloped with Transformers’ fund running into hundreds of millions Taxpayers’ money or is it how Government High School, Adeta contract was hyper inflated and shoddy job delivered. Will they blame the opposition parties for how a hospital in Patigi was renovated with more than N200m without working generator, hospital facilities and medical Personnel.”
However, Kwara State Government refuted claims that it was behind the state of non availability of classrooms and dilapidated buildings in the state public schools.
In a statement signed by Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, the state commissioner for Communications, the government said that the immediate past administration led by the former governor Abdulfattah Ahmed should be held responsible by shortage of classrooms in the state primary schools.
Olukoju said, “This administration has moved on from whatever happened in the past, except where historical references are inevitable. Our task is so enormous that we are left with no time to waste.
“Regardless, the truth is that the administration still grapples with the burden of fixing the most basic things, including those that should have been done but had resources meant for them blatantly stolen by these PDP officials. An example is the UBEC funds, which were brazenly stolen. We reported a case of a particular N1bn UBEC intervention funds that were withdrawn cash and stolen. The evidence is damning.
“This barefaced and irresponsible conduct led to the blacklist of Kwara by UBEC and set the state back for many years in education infrastructure and many other sectors. As if that was not enough, there had not been any meaningful investments in the basic education until our administration came up in 2019. It is not surprising, therefore, to see a Kankan LGEA School in some parts of the state, in spite of the huge funds we have pumped in the sector. This was the essence of the government’s public communication dated July 24, 2022 and titled ‘Next Time You See an Oke Apomu LGEA School. Even so, our focus has been governance. This is why we feel scandalised by the lack of context in the recent BBC report on LGEA School Kankan in Asa local government. The media owe the public not just a duty to tell a story but to give appropriate context to such stories for lessons to be learnt. Kankan LGEA School, like many of it across the state, did not just get there. They have all been documented, and steps are being taken to put them in shape in phases.
“Between 2019 and now, this administration has paid for and accessed UBEC counterpart funds for years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 to fix school infrastructure in more than 600 locations in the state. This has been confirmed by UBEC itself, and they were done to specifications in the UBEC-SUBEB work plans. “Yet the gap is understandably huge that it will take many years of such consistent investments to bridge. To date, we have paid counterpart funds for eight years, whereas we have only spent less than five years in the saddle. What this means is that we shoulder the burden of fixing school infrastructure that should have been done since 2014 or earlier. But the funds were stolen under the same people now in the PDP who are accusing the EFCC of witch-hunt.“This is the context to the Kankan story. While we do not deny that it is our responsibility to fix the deficits and we are indeed doing same, we reject any report that lacks the context to tell the full story and guide public understanding of the issues.”
The Commissioner also refuted the claim that the state government was behind the current corruption trial of former Governor Abdulfatahi Ahmed, saying the burden of governance does not permit any distractions or targeting of anyone, including former public officials. Olukoju explained that the trial of the former Governor is the exclusive prerogative of the anti-graft agencies who may have found against him following their own investigations of different transactions involving his administration.
According to Olukoju, “We find the accusation of the opposition party as cowardly, baseless, and wrong-headed. The right place to prove the innocence of anyone accused of wrongdoing is the court of law, not on the pages of newspapers or through shadow-boxing. They should leave us out of the issue.
Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed ruled the state as the governor of the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between May 29, 2011 and May 29,2024.
