Kwara 2027: NDC Guber Candidate Unveils Campaign Council
* Urges members to prioritise community engagement
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kwara State, Prof. Abdulmumin Olayinka Ajia, has unveiled members of his Campaign Council, urging them to prioritise community engagement, listen to residents and communicate the party’s proposals accurately.
According to him, the conduct of the Campaign Council, headed by its Director General, Mr. Kazeem Olawuyi, should provide voters with an indication of the kind of administration the NDC intended to establish if elected in 2027.
“The people of Kwara will learn something about the kind of government we intend to lead from the way we conduct our campaign,” he said.
He urged campaign officials to respect citizens and political opponents, respond to criticism with facts and ensure accountability in the management of campaign resources.
The NDC governorship candidate has, however, promised to introduce transparent recruitment into the state civil service, tackle multiple taxation, improve public healthcare and raise the minimum wage of workers to N120,000 if elected governor in 2027.
Ajia, who made the promises during the formal unveiling of his Gubernatorial Campaign Council at the party’s state secretariat in the Sawmill area of Ilorin, said his administration would prioritise accountability, equal opportunities and effective delivery of public services.
Presenting his six-pillar development agenda, tagged the Forward Kwara Agenda, the university professor said his decision to leave a career in higher education and return home to seek the governorship was informed by concerns over unemployment, insecurity, poverty, poor healthcare and the rising cost of living.
He said his experience as an academic, business school leader and mentor had exposed him to the challenges confronting ordinary people, particularly graduates struggling to secure employment, farmers unable to access their farmlands because of insecurity and families finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic necessities.
Ajia cited a 48.3 percent multidimensional poverty rate in Kwara, describing the situation as unacceptable and stressing the need for a government that would make public institutions work effectively for the people.
According to him, access to government services should not depend on personal connections or political affiliation.
“Access to public services should never depend on your relationship with the governor. You do not need to know me personally in order to benefit from effective government under my leadership,” he said.
He promised to establish transparent procedures for accessing government support, with clearly defined eligibility requirements and opportunities for applicants to challenge decisions they considered unfair.
On employment, the NDC candidate said his administration would introduce a predictable annual recruitment timetable for vacancies in the state civil service and encourage local governments to adopt a similar arrangement.
He explained that available vacancies would be aggregated and advertised publicly to prevent political interference and favouritism in the recruitment process.
“I’m not going to allow a department director to bring their own child and put them in their place. We are going to aggregate all the vacancies and open them up to every single Kwara citizen,” he declared.
He added that his government would collaborate with the organised private sector to encourage youth employment through incentives, while graduates interested in establishing businesses would have access to enterprise grants based on viable proposals and transparent eligibility criteria.
On economy, Ajia promised to promote local production by developing what he described as production corridors across the 16 local government areas of the state.
He said the state had sufficient agricultural resources, skills and entrepreneurial potential to generate wealth without depending excessively on foreign investors.
Using cassava and gari production in Oke-Ero, sweet potatoes in parts of the state and fish production as examples, he said government would support farmers and businesses with extension services, storage facilities, processing equipment and access to markets.
The NDC candidate also pledged to eliminate multiple taxation and review overlapping government charges that make business operations difficult.
“Enough of duplicated taxes. Government has the responsibility to make it easy to do business. A lot of our business people have complained to me about how difficult it sometimes is to do business in Kwara. Under my leadership, Kwara will be open for business,” he said.
On security, which he identified as the first pillar of his agenda, Ajia promised to strengthen collaboration between federal security agencies, local governments, traditional institutions and community structures.
He said his administration would identify vulnerable routes and communities, improve intelligence gathering and ensure that security reports from rural areas reached the appropriate authorities.
He particularly emphasised the need to protect farming communities, noting that farmers must be able to access their farmlands and transport their produce without fear of attacks.
He also promised to strengthen emergency preparedness, including fire prevention, rescue operations and flood response.
On education, the NDC candidate proposed a policy aimed at ensuring that every child remains in school and attends classes regularly.
He said that within the first 90 days of his administration, his government would work with schools, families, counsellors and local governments to identify children who were out of school or frequently absent and address the factors responsible.
While promising to sustain social intervention programmes, he said access to such support would be based on clearly defined criteria rather than political considerations.
Ajia also pledged to improve learning outcomes through regular monitoring of school attendance and academic performance, alongside better support for teachers and expanded career guidance.
He said his administration would give greater attention to technical education, vocational training and apprenticeship programmes, stressing that university education should not be the only recognised pathway to success.
“Not all our children will go to university. There is nothing wrong with that. They can choose another path and become multimillionaires. They just need to start early and know exactly what they want to do,” he said.
On healthcare, Ajia promised to strengthen primary healthcare facilities, ensure that hospitals operate according to their advertised hours and improve the availability of qualified medical personnel.
He expressed concern over situations where patients were denied treatment because of payment difficulties or the absence of personnel responsible for processing payments.
According to him, public hospitals must not turn away patients who cannot immediately afford medical bills.
“When people go to hospitals and the ATM card cannot work, you still have to treat them. Even if people go to hospitals and they do not have money, you still have to treat them and figure out how they will pay,” he said.
He, however, maintained that government would develop mechanisms to identify those capable of paying for medical services while ensuring that genuinely poor and vulnerable residents received necessary assistance.
He also promised to recruit qualified healthcare professionals from other parts of the country where necessary, offering competitive conditions of service to attract and retain them.
The NDC candidate said health insurance coverage would be expanded in phases, beginning with vulnerable households and other priority groups.
On infrastructure and energy, Ajia said his administration would prioritise the rehabilitation of dangerous roads and routes connecting farming communities to markets rather than embarking on new road projects without considering existing infrastructure.
He pledged that his government would also intervene in the rehabilitation of federal roads where necessary and subsequently seek reimbursement from the Federal Government.
He further promised to tackle poor environmental sanitation, improve waste management and modernise motor parks across the state.
According to him, motor parks should have clean toilets, proper facilities and internet connectivity, arguing that relatively modest investments could significantly improve the experience of commuters and transport operators.
Ajia also proposed the development of mini-grids, solar farms and other renewable energy initiatives to improve electricity supply, particularly in underserved communities.
On governance and anti-corruption, the sixth pillar of his agenda, he promised to introduce a quarterly performance-monitoring system through which residents would be able to assess the progress of government projects and services.
He said the proposed system would use a colour-coded dashboard of green, yellow and red indicators to show whether government commitments were being satisfactorily implemented, progressing slowly or performing poorly.
“We don’t have to hide it. If it’s right, it’s right. It tells us we have work to do,” he said.
The NDC candidate also promised to strengthen the role of elected councillors as direct links between government and residents, enabling people to report their challenges and seek assistance at the ward level.
On workers’ welfare, Ajia reaffirmed his support for a N120,000 minimum wage, describing it as the least amount he considered reasonable in view of prevailing economic realities.
He said the position was informed by publicly available economic data and the declining purchasing power of workers amid rising food, transportation and household expenses.
He also promised to verify outstanding pension and gratuity obligations, publish a payment timetable for validated claims and ensure that retirees were regularly informed about the status of their entitlements.
