BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI
The bounce in the strides of Governor Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara State after the Supreme Court judgment's affirmation of his election is not going unnoticed.
IT was just over a month ago that the Supreme Court confirmed Governor Ahmed's election as Governor of Kwara State. The judgment permanently put paid to any chances, that the main opposition as represented by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had to upturn Ahmed's election and with it, the new hegemony as weaved by Senator Bukola Saraki.
The election petition filed by the ACN gubernatorial candidate, Dele Belgore, SAN had remarkably put everyone involved in the Kwara project on edge. A judgment in favour of Belgore would almost certainly have been a major set back for the new political hegemony as scripted by the immediate past Governor of the state, Senator Saraki.
It would almost have certainly have meant the upliftment of one of the most prominent political families in Kwara at the expense of another. The Belgores and the Sarakis are among the most prominent families from Illorin, the capital of the state.
(http://vml1.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Abdulfatai-Ahmed.jpg?9d7bd4) (http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/m-d-belgore-and-the-unfinished-work-in-kwara-state/abdulfatai-ahmed/)Gov Ahmed Remarkably, while the two most prominent products of the Saraki family, Senator Olusola Saraki otherwise known as Oloye and his son, Senator Bukola were medical doctors who, however, distinguished themselves in the political arena, the Belgores have been known for their landmarks in the legal profession. One is a retired Chief Justice and Dele, the ACN candidate in the 2011 gubernatorial election is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.
With that battle now past him, and the adulations from friends and family over, Ahmed it seems is now setting his sight towards other achievements at least in the articulation of democracy dividends for the populace.
His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications,Dr Muideen Akorede pointing to that direction told Vanguard that following the court judgment that the Governor is now "re-energising governance through a focus on performance contracts and a programme of shared prosperity."
The programme of shared prosperity, he explained is a simplified framework for marketing the Medium Term Sector Strategy to the people and all stakeholders in the state.
Akorede recalled that 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 officials 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.
He said that 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, he added that 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.
Vanguard Nigeria