From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has urged Nigerians to use the 66th Independence anniversary to renew their commitment to peace, unity and the development of a better nation.
AbdulRazaq made the call in Ilorin during the state’s celebration of Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, where he congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Nigerians at home and abroad.
He urged citizens to shun violence, criminality and hate speech, stressing that peace and collective security remained essential to national progress.
“Independence Day is a time to celebrate our resilience, diversity and shared identity, but also to renew our commitment to building the Nigeria we desire,” he said.
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The governor said Nigerians had continued to demonstrate “courage, enterprise, creativity and determination” despite the challenges confronting the country, describing these qualities as some of the nation’s greatest assets.
AbdulRazaq also highlighted his administration’s achievements in education, agriculture, healthcare and urban renewal.
He said KwaraLEARN had trained thousands of teachers, provided more than 1.2 million textbooks and learning materials, while digital tools had been introduced in over 1,500 primary schools.
According to him, the administration has constructed more than 2,000 classrooms, recruited nearly 9,000 teachers, established the Kwara State University of Education and abolished PTA levies in public primary schools.
On healthcare, AbdulRazaq said more than 200 primary healthcare centres had been renovated, equipped and solarised, while the General Hospital Ilorin had been upgraded to the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital.
He also cited agricultural interventions under the Kwara SAPZ and L-PRES programmes, saying they had expanded opportunities for more than 100,000 farmers through value-chain development, mechanisation, rural roads and agro-logistics support.
The governor inspected the parade guards and schoolchildren before delivering his address, while the ceremony featured a march-past and the cutting of the Independence cake.
The event was attended by Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly and APC governorship candidate, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, his running mate, Seun Oguniyi Adato, legislators, cabinet members, military and paramilitary chiefs and students from selected schools.
