…Special New Year Gift
By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
All cabinet members of the Kwara State government have been laid off in a gesture the people of the state described as a New Year gift from the governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
A statement from the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaiye, said the dissolution of the cabinet took effect from the night of December 31, 2020.
Ajakaiye had said, “His Excellency especially commends the honourable cabinet members for their contributions to the development of the state, while also wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”
However, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Professor Mamman Jubril, retained his position in the State Executive Council.
Governor Abdulrazaq also directed the former cabinet members to hand over to the most senior officers in their respective ministries.
The dissolved cabinet was sworn in on December 14, 2019, and comprised larger percentage of women which formed about 56.25 per cent; a development that had drawn lots off accolades to the governor from within and outside the country.
Lending more credence to this, the CPS said, “This was remarkably the most gender-friendly cabinet on the African continent. The cabinet also had the youngest commissioner in Nigeria.”
The governor appointed his cabinet members after winning the governorship election to dislodge the legendary Saraki political dynasty through a wide margin polls result on the platform of APC.
He succeeded Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed; a political godson of Senator Bukola Saraki; former governor in the state and the immediate past Senate President.
