TheCable

Ibraheem Abdullateef, senior special assistant on communications to AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara, says his principal’s spartan lifestyle should be emulated by fellow leaders.

In a statement on Friday, Abdullateef said the governor’s prudent management of resources is uncommon in the history of the state.

Abdullateef commended AbdulRazaq’s efforts in reducing the cost of governance, citing a StatiSense report on the 2024 governors’ office budget.

The report ranked Kwara as fifth out of the 36 states in the country with the lowest allocation to the governor’s office from the state budget.

According to StatiSense, Kwara allocated 1.9 percent of its total budget to the governor’s office.

“The spartan lifestyle of Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has once again come up for recognition in the new report by StatiSense, which ranked the state overall 5th best most prudent in the country, with just 1.9 per cent of the state’s budget allocated to the Governor’s Office,” the statement reads.

“A similar report by the same research body in December last year on States’ Government House Budgets vis-a-vis their IGRs also ranked Kwara overall 4th best most prudent in the country, with less than 12% (4.2bn) of its IGR budgeted for Government House. It was also the lowest in North Central.

“This is another testament to the fact that Governor AbdulRazaq is a prudent administrator, who is not in the business of governance to enrich his pocket. Most of his policies, programmes and actions are dictated by prudence and are in the best interest of the state and people.”

Abdullateef noted that the report, like many others before it, put paid to the claims of some persons on the high cost of governance and low accountability in the state.

“Conversely, this was not the same under PDP in Kwara. During recession in 2016, the government drew the ire of the people for extravagance and insensitivity, despite being unable to pay workers their salaries and pensions even with the bailout funds. The party should be taking lessons,” Abdullateef  said.

“Ultimately, Kwara State is in safe and prudent hands.

“We have seen how the Governor has over the years cut wastages. He preaches prudent management of resources to his appointees and leads the charge.

“This is commendable, especially at these rare times where there is increased advocacy for the reduction of the cost of governance, amidst the economic challenges in the country. AbdulRazaq is showing the right leadership.”

He added that AbdulRazaq is working on new steps to strengthen the quality of life of the people and development of  Kwara state.