2023: Kwara South National Assembly candidates pledge to tackle poverty, security challenges

Candidates of leading political parties aspiring to represent the Kwara South senatorial district in the National Assembly in the 2023 general elections have pledged to tackle prevalent security challenges and poverty in the area when elected.

The candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord Party (AP) and the NNPP spoke differently at a debate organized by an umbrella socio-cultural organization of youth in the area, the Kwara South Consultative Youth Forum, in Ilorin on Friday.

The people, who lamented that the security challenges in the area had discouraged investment, said that there is a need to promote policy that would protect lives and property to address the high rate of armed robbery and kidnapping in the area.

Unemployment and attendant poverty, especially, among the youth were also identified, mapping out strategies such as the establishment of farm settlements to encourage youth in agriculture.

They also planned to encourage the establishment of manufacturing industries to ameliorate youth unemployment as well as expressed the need to invest in education, health insurance, and promotion of the cultural heritage of the Igbomina.

The candidates, who were unanimous in their view, said that the district is marginalized in areas of development and called for the creation of additional local governments and constituencies.

They said that the Ifelodun local government area, which is one of the local government areas in the district, is about the size of five local government areas in some states of the federation.

The people also pledged to use their connections and professional expertise to galvanize development in the Kwara South district, saying that they are contesting to serve their people.

The candidates include senatorial candidates of the SDP, Professor Wale Sulaiman, Ambassador Olutola Onijala of the AP, including House of Representatives candidates for the Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun federal constituency of the PDP, Hassan Oyeleke, SDP’s Saheed Popoola and Abdulfatai Jimoh of the NNPP.

Also speaking, the president of the youth organization, Comrade Gabriel Omoniyi, said that the programme was organized to realize good governance and good representation in the district, adding that it was aimed to make the candidates know the challenges confronting the community, among other reasons.

He identified challenges in the area to include high unemployment, poverty, bad roads, and insecurity, advising any of the candidates that are elected to serve the people rather than themselves.

The Elegosi of Egosiland, Oba Daniel Dada, who represented the Alofa of Ilofa and Chief Elemesi from Erin-Ile, Alhaji Abdulwahab Akinola, lamented hunger and anger in the land, charged the candidates to lift people of the area out of poverty.

They commended the organizers for staging the programme.

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