As the Supreme Court reaffirmed the electoral victory of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State last week, the expectation of people of the state is that all efforts of the government should be devoted to taking the state away from its civil service outlook to a prosperous agro-industrialised and investor-friendly state. Biola Azeez reports.THE Supreme Court, last Tuesday,dismissed the appeal brought before it by the defeated candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Dele Belgore (SAN) against the emergence of Governor Ahmed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 2011 gubernatorial election in the state. In the lead judgment read by Justice F. F. Tabai, the court affirmed the concurrent judgments of the lower courts, agreeing that 'the appeal lacks merit and is hereby dismissed without cost.' The five justices agreed that Dele Belgore had not been able to prove lack of substantial non- compliance with the electoral act, as only few of the 895 polling units being challenged were dwelt on.Describing certain parts of the Appeal Court's judgment as perverse, Dele Belgore had asked the Supreme Court to set aside the decision of the Appellate court and consequently nullify the election of Governor Ahmed by declaring him the duly elected governor of Kwara State. Ahmed, however, argued that the appeal lacked proof of substantial non-compliance but instead contained vague, general and generic submissions.Meanwhile, the ACN governorship candidate, Mohammed Dele Belgore, (SAN, has said he and his party had accepted in good faith the verdict of the Supreme Court which dismissed his petition and upheld the election of the PDP's Governor Ahmed.'As law-abiding citizens and members of a political party with profound respect for the rule of law and public peace and order, we accept the decision of the Supreme Court which is the highest court in the land,' Belgore said.He said the struggle for a better Kwara State continued and urged Kwarans to remain steadfast, irrespective of the position of the apex court.Now that all legal fights for Kwara state's number one position have ended, and as Governor Ahmed has said that the litigation had not distracted his administration a bit while it lasted, many political watchers believe there is no other time to consolidate the gains of the victory than now, as people eagerly await the dividends of democracy to reflect on their lives. Speaking after the Supreme Court's pronouncement, Governor Ahmed described the judgment as a call to greater service. The governor said the judgment had affirmed, beyond any doubt, that the 2011 elections in Kwara State reflected the popular wish and aspiration of the good people of the state.Dedicating his victory to Allah and the good people of Kwara State, Governor Ahmed commended Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at all levels in the state for their steadfast support before and during the litigation.The governor also urged the opposition in the state, having exhausted the judicial option, to join his administration in the renewed efforts to evolve an agro-driven economy for the state. Governor Ahmed also called on people of the state at home and abroad to join the moving train of the PDP administration premised on shared prosperity.Also speaking on the development, the senior special assistant to the governor on media and communication, Dr. Muideen Akorede, said the governor was re-energising governance through a focus on performance contracts and a programme of shared prosperity.The Programme of Shared Prosperity is a simplified framework for marketing the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) to the people and all stakeholders in the state. In July 2011, the administration came out with a Medium Term Sector Strategy which contains the key policies, strategies and action plans for each of the ministries, departments and agencies in the state. The document, which was a product of a retreat held in Lagos and attended by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, other top government official and resource persons from the private and international sector, also contains a road map and key performance indicators for the government for the next four years.Following the retreat, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed directed all political office holders and civil servants in the state to imbibe and internalise the MTSS to ensure effective implementation.Last January, the governor also approved a programme of shared prosperity as a marketing platform to ensure that all key stakeholders within and outside the state understand and internalise the key policies contained in the MTSS. The programme breaks down the MTSS to direct core policies that can be easily marketed to the people, much like the Federal Government's Transformation Agenda.According to the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Tunji Moronfoye, since everyone aspires towards prosperity, the objective, therefore, is to create a platform for all stakeholders to partake in Kwara's economic and social prosperity. Therefore, economic prosperity for the state will translate into the people's well-being, increased revenue for development projects, profits for private entrepreneurs and investors, employment generation, enhanced infrastructure, etc. According to him, the campaign also aims to achieve the following objectives:Position the Abdulfatah Ahmed administration as high-performing and purposeful through the marketing of these innovative programmes; ensure the understanding and buy-in of government programmes and policies by major stakeholders within and outside the state; carve a niche for Kwara by highlighting its Unique Selling Points (USPs) and identify a simple, unifying slogan to which government officials at all levels can relate and implement in the performance of their duties just like the Transformation Agenda at the federal level.Moronfoye said the core policies of the programme of shared prosperity had been chosen based on the capacity for rapid impact on the state's economy and indeed on the people of Kwara State. 'The policy areas are also interconnected based on the potential to impact on the others. For example, the policy on roads is directed towards servicing other key sectors such as education, agriculture, health, tourism and solid mineral development. The policy on agriculture also interlinks with that on youth empowerment, industry and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. To ensure effective governance, we are also promoting high levels advocacy, transparency and accountability as well as service reform through performance contracts,'' he said.Thus, realising the need to consolidate on development and deliver the benefits to the people, the government is creating shared prosperity for all stakeholders by leveraging on the people's resourcefulness and our strengths through strong support for commercial agriculture through Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives, generating food security by supporting small holding farmers, creating agro-allied jobs and wealth through value chain management, promoting all-seasons farming using advanced irrigation systems, inducing growth and job creation.
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