Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of has denied sponsoring the musical concert that featured the pop star, Wizkid, in Ilorin on Christmas Day.
AbdulRazaq also described as false, the rumour that his administration spent 200m naira on end of the year gifts and 450m naira on purchase of official vehicles for himself.
He stated this on Thursday during the presentation of a pictorial compendium on the state of infrastructure and social amenities in the 16 local government areas of the state by an NGO, Kwara Development Trackers.
The governor said, “those behind the claims were the people who brought the state to its knees and thought everyone was like them. The Wizkid concert was not sponsored or funded by the state government. It was purely a private sector initiative.
“We however would continue to support such enterprising initiatives so that Kwara can better tap into the potential in the entertainment and creative industry. Ours is to provide the enabling environment for such initiatives. Those who said we spent N50m to bring Wizkid also said we spent N200m on the end of the year party. They also said I bought bulletproof cars. These are laughable claims.
“Their strategy is to say that we are like them and tar us with the same brush. We are not. We are prudent with public resources. As of today, I still drive my personal cars as official cars. I bought them before I was sworn in. Although the law allows me to buy such vehicles, it is not a priority for me. We need to fix our state first.”
Stressing the need to grow the entertainment industry and empower talented youths, AbdulRazaq said he requested a meeting with Wizkid in his house on Wednesday, where he sought a partnership to empower local talents.
