Kwara State Governor’s Acceptance Speech Following His Victory At The APC Gubernatorial Primaries

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State who won APC
gubernatorial ticket yesterday in Illorin gave a brief speech shortly after he
was announced the party’s winner. Governor Ahmed who will be going for a 2^nd
term if he defeats PDP ‘s governorship candidate next year says it’s an open
secret that his government has performed extraordinarily well, and he will also
be willing to do more if he elected again for the next four years. Read his
speech after the cut.. Quite interesting… And I hear he has done so well in
Kwara that people actually wants him back…

I am deeply humbled by your unambiguous endorsement for me
to stand for re-election as our party’s candidate in the 2015 gubernatorial
election. From all nooks and crannies of state, from the remotest part of our
land, you have spoken with one voice and given me a clear mandate to run again
as Governor of Kwara, the State of Harmony.

I am grateful. I thank all party members, executives at all
levels, our stakeholders and our Leader, Distinguished Senator Abubakar Bukola
Saraki (CON) for the confidence you have reposed in me.

Today, we have served a strong message to those who mistake
consensus for imposition. Those who envy our political structure in private and
begrudge it in public. The message is that that we can manage our affairs and
conduct transparent elections without rancour or violence. That our structure
is inclusive.

That it offers hope that you can be anything you want to be,
subject only to the limits of your abilities. This structure guarantees
participatory democracy and inclusive governance.

In four years, we have worked tirelessly to fulfil our
pledge to sustain continuity and chart new pathways to growth. We have broken
the jinx of abandoned projects and demonstrated to our people the tangible
benefits of continuity. In four years, we have made life better for a
significant number of our people and made our state more prosperous.

Thousands of our youths are now productively engaged while
many more small and medium scale enterprises now run thriving businesses.

Our people are now guaranteed quality health care with our
modernisation programmes and the expanded community health insurance scheme
while more of our children can now access free and qualitative education.

Additional cities, towns and villages are now connected
through our urban and rural road projects while a greater number of our
communities now enjoy more regular electricity following our supply of power
infrastructure. We have brought clean piped water to thousand of homes thus
reducing the incidence of water-borne diseases and making life better for our
people.

Some will say it is my job as your Governor to provide these
services and programmes. That is true. Certainly, these strides demonstrate how
far we have come. But the reality is that we are not done yet. Indeed, I am the
first to admit that there is more work to do for our state and its people.

My dear compatriots and party men, these indeed are
challenging times for our country and our state. However, I offer hope over
fear; change over stagnation and prosperity in place of despondency. Together,
we will achieve the Kwara State of our dreams, a state in which our children
and theirs will prosper and feel proud to call home.

I commit to work harder to transform the lives of our people
and our state when re-elected for a second term as Governor. I will continue to
prioritise youth empowerment to get more young people into work through
entrepreneurship and targeted employment.

We will expand schools and hospitals and build new ones
where necessary.

I promise to do more to better your lives, uplift our
communities and elevate our state. I have done it before and commit to do even
more when you return me as Governor in February 2015, Insha Allah.

In the run-up to today’s primary elections, many party
members indicated interest in running as candidates at several levels. Some
were successful, others were not. I call on all you all to join hands with the
leadership and membership of our great party so that together we can make APC
stronger. Working together, we can build a more prosperous Kwara State, with
limitless opportunities for everyone to realise their legitimate aspirations.

Once again, I thank you all for this privilege to stand as
your candidate and the opportunity to serve you again as Governor. As a party,
we will achieve change for our people at all levels starting with the 2015
General elections.

Thank you all and God Bless you.