The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kwara State, Alhaji Hakeem Oladimeji Lawal has congratulated the people of the state for seeing the dawn of New Year 2023, urging them not to lose hope that the state will rise from what he described as the present “pit of hopelessness to the new height of glory”.
In a New Year statement released by the Director of Media and Strategic Communication for SDP/Hakeem Lawal Campaign Council, Mr Oluwasegun Abifarin, the candidate urged the people to raise their antenna of hope and expectation as the nation enters the crucial bend leading to the 2023 general elections and use their electoral power to break the shackles of bad leadership holding the state down.
According to Lawal, “for us in Kwara, we must look at where we are coming from. From inception, Kwara State was created based on two principles of comparative advantage: Human Resources and Agriculture. This was what led to the boom where the State provided the major Human Resources to the civil service in Northern Nigeria.
“Sadly, many of these things have become relics of the past. Some of these institutions have become nothing to write home about. If we assess ourselves today, there is little or no progress. The question is how do we move forward”?
He further said that the new year and most especially the 2023 election, provides a rare opportunity for Kwarans to “reinvest trust in the ability of our party to restore the lost glory of Kwara state which have been trampled upon by reckless and selfish past leaders”.
He equally charged the people to intensify their prayers, political alertness and mobilisation so that the forthcoming polls would enthrone credible and patriotic leaders at all levels in the state for democracy and good governance to thrive.
He said that he remains an agent of change whose agenda is to transform the state beyond expectation and erect a blueprint for its socio-economic transformation in the areas of human capital development, infrastructure, agriculture and economic empowerment.
“So, as we welcome 2023, let us, with hope, project a year of continued progress against our combined challenges in Kwara State. Let us be united in in our resolve to collectively rescue Kwara from bad governance and restore the glory of our dear State”, he said.
