Ilorin
Kwara State Government on Wednesday held a virtual State Executive Council(SEC) meeting to drive home its call for social distancing during the time of COVID-19 pandemic ravaging most nations, including.
The teleconference was attended by all members of the cabinet from their various locations, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq chairing.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin, available to Duaglobalnews.
The Governor said the non-physical interaction meeting offered a glimpse into what would happen in the future.
During the “digital meeting” the governor told SEC members:“We need to keep our eyes on the ball and not be distracted.
” Very shortly, we are having a committee to review the 2020 budget in the face of our current economic realities.
” We have to cut down on recurrent expenditure. Whatever happens, projects that directly impact on the live of our people will be prioritised.”
Apparently referring to the steep drop in the price of crude oil, the Governor said the national economic outlook was bleak and had necessitated urgent budget reviews to align available resources with priority projects to serve the public.
The Governor, however, said that at least, 20 of the 26 ongoing urban renewal road projects and 70 per cent of the schools being rehabilitated would be ready by May 29.
He also said that his administration’s various water and energy projects had made tremendous impacts on the life of the people looking across the state.
“We will have a lot to deliver to our people (on our first anniversary). But this is the time to keep our eyes on the ball and not be distracted by some noise on the social media.
“We know where such noise is ocoming from. We have been elected to serve the people. It is not time for politics.
“Despite the mischief from some quarters, the people of Kwara State appreciate the fact that we truly care for them. This is the spirit we must keep in our continuous engagement with the people. Let us also support our people at our own individual level.”
The Governor also said soft loans would soon be extended to transport workers like motorcycle, tricycle and cab drivers who had been seriously affected by the shutdown to flatten the curve of transmission of COVID-19.
He said such loans, to be repaid in trinkles after the COVID crisis is over, would come under the state’s social investment programme; to help the drivers cope with the shutdowns.
AbdulRazaq commended members of the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 for the “good work they have been doing for our people.”
The governor urged cabinet members to also join community advocacy to deepen public enlightenment without compromising public safety.
AbdulRazaq said Kwara might soon receive donations from Abuja, to strengthen the palliatives for the masses and beyond the categories currently receiving palliatives.
Contributing during the meeting, the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Technical Committee, Kayode Alabi, said Kwara had emerged as one of the most prepared states in Nigeria for the pandemic.
He cited the state of its facilities, the readiness and commitment of its manpower, and the steady distribution of palliatives to the poor to lessen the impact of the development to buttress his point.
Alabi, who received the report on his committee’s work, said the state government had refurbished the oxygen plant which could also serve other states.
He said that the multimillion naira machines recently purchased for the isolation centre underlined the commitment of the administration to serve the people.
The online medium reports teleconference came ahead of the official launch of a new website, designed to be interactive to bring government closer to the people, and strengthen the state’s ranking in the ease of doing business chat.
