2023: Poverty Reduction, Job Creation Remain My Priority if Elected, Says Kwara YPP Guber Candidate

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Governorship Candidate of the Young Peoples’ Party (YPP), in Kwara State in the 2023 General Elections, Mr. Waziri Yakubu Gobir, has said during the weekend that the major priority of his administration when elected would be poverty reduction and creation of job opportunities in the agriculture sector.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin when he declared his governorship campaign, the YPP flag bearer said that his development agenda would target the youth population, which he described as half of the total population in the state.

Gobir, who used the event to unveil his Deputy Governorship Candidate, Mr. Bolujoko George, said that only 10 per cent of the population is in the state’s civil service.

He noted that his administration would also encourage job creation through mechanised agricultural revolution, especially among the youth to reduce poverty in the state.

Gobir, who is a pharmacist by training, criticised the present government in the state over infrastructure development, saying: “What is the benefit of a visual centre, or esoteric bridge, when the food basket areas of the state are not accessible?”

“Kwara State is one of the largest producers of soya beans in the country. The soil is good for its cultivation. Soya bean, a category A Product in the “Zero Oil Plan” of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) trades over $100 billion and Nigeria’s target share of the market is five per cent amounting to $5 billion.

“We need to create wealth through agriculture. Most communities where farming is taking place are not accessible.

“There is no good roads, school or health facilities that could make living comfortable for the inhabitants and discourage rural urban migration.

“We need to attract both local and foreign investment in agriculture to our state to improve the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) and socioeconomic development of the state.

“It’s high time the state moved from subsistence farming to mechanised agricultural revolution to help the populace.”

Talking on his chances among other governorship candidates in the state, Gobir said that his chances are in the hands of God and the electorate, adding that people should not make mistake of electing bad leaders like in the past.

“Mistake made in the past can be corrected now. This is the opportunity.

“This time around it’s not about the party, but the personality that is credible enough and trusted. People should look at attributes of each of the candidates to make the right choice.

On the prevalent security challenge in the state, the governorship candidate said that traditional rulers, vigilance groups and community leadership in various communities should be utilised to complement with formal security system to address the development.