Kwara Transition Committee Wraps Up Work With Focus On Women, Youth Empowerment

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The Kwara State Transition Committee 2019 at the weekend concluded the public interaction phase of its assignment, with the committee focusing largely on agricultural value chain, rapid infrastructure development and women and youth empowerment.

The committee spent the last few days of its work listening to scholars and entrepreneurs on how the new  administration can maximise the state's agricultural potentials, engender growth and build an inclusive society that empowers women and the youth.

In a paper presented at a two-day Focused Workshop organised by the committee, Dr Limota Goroso Giwa of the US-based Global Fund urged the new administration to convene an all-women summit to draw up a policy directed at empowering them.

The workshop centered around some themes, two of which are: 'Realising the agricultural potentials of Kwara State - the Value Chain Approach'  and 'Women Economic Empowerment in Kwara State -- From Ad-hoc Interventions to a Sustainable Model'.

Goroso said women want to be respected and properly represented in the decision making process as members of the society, calling on the new government to also prioritise girl-child education.

Bolade Agbola, another resource person, urged the new administration to be creative in its revenue drive and efforts to cope with population surge.

He warned that failure to adjust to the reality of a post-oil Nigeria is a threat to stability, especially when the country's economic growth is far below its population growth.

Other experts who addressed the workshop urged the new government to invest in irrigation, rural roads, schools, healthcare centres, and micro credit scheme to stimulate interest in farming and make the people truly productive.

The committee is expected to submit its report to the Governor-elect before the inauguration later this month, according to sources.

Aminu Adisa Logun, the committee's chairman, said the panel has gathered and processed a lot of quality information and data which he hopes would help the new administration to hit the ground running, after inauguration.

He said the topics treated at the workshop represented the core areas of the local economy that can help the new administration to transform the state.

Inaugurated on April 4 by the Governor-elect AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the 80-person committee interfaced with the government's team and technocrats on various sectors of the economy.

The committee's terms of reference had included liaising with the outgoing government to facilitate smooth transition to the new government on May 29, 2019, engagement of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), review of the finances of the outgoing government with a focus on receipts, assets, and liabilities, among others.

The committee was also mandated to come up with policy recommendations for the incoming administration.