[Opinion] KWASSIP: Tejidini, an Incompetent Man With No Confidence, Deserves No Votes of Confidence By _Arc. Ayuba Musbau Kawu_
KWASSIP: Tejidini, an Incompetent Man With No Confidence, Deserves No Votes of Confidence
By _Arc. Ayuba Musbau Kawu_
Kwara State Social Investment Program (KWASSIP) led by Dr. Abdulwasiu Tejidini as its acting DG has been faced with series of accusations, especially from opposition parties, ranging from lack of transparency; lack of accountability; inability to meet its goals; sectional treatment and others.
To this effect, the radio program attended by Dr. Tejidini along with Mr. Olusegun Olusola Adewara (Sholyment), the Kwara State PDP Publicity Secretary, offered the former an opportunity to clear some of these accusations. But very unfortunately, Dr. Tejidini did not only compound problems facing KWASSIP at the moment, he also ended up exposing himself as an incompetent man who lacks confidence that makes him unworthy to occupy such a very sensitive position.
To mend his shambolic outing on the radio program, Dr. Tejidini has been receiving shamelessly procured votes of confidence from some APC groups. This shameless arrangement further confirms Dr. Tejidini’s ineptness. One would have expected some records to be set straight after he failed to do so on the program immediately he left the studio instead of using KWASSIP’s resources to buy undeserving and shameless votes of confidence that fly around.
One of the very basic and fundamental questions Sholyment, who eventually became the anchor of that program with his brilliance against his incompetent counterpart, asked during that program was how much has been disbursed to KWASSIP since Dr. Tejidini’s assumes office, at least. However, he, Dr. Tejidini, woefully failed this simple question. Instead, he shamelessly referred the question to Ogbeni Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Arakunrin Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the Kwara State Governor.
This further raised some issues such as; the roles Ajakaye has been playing in who gets what from KWASSIP; whether Ajakaye is the one seeing the affairs of KWASSIP while the incompetent Tejidini is just there as the figure-head acting DG like a toothless dog and others.
This does not only call for adequate scrutiny of KWASSIP and its incompetent acting DG but also calls for Ogbeni Ajakaye to be investigated. Had we have a working House of Assembly, Ogbeni Ajakaye would have been summoned for questioning. But very unfortunately, Speaker Yakubu Salihu Dalandi led House is another rot of this administration just as KWASSIP is also one.
To further disgrace himself and expose his lack of confidence as an incompetent person, Dr. Tejidini shamelessly boasted of this administration’s changing from hand-hand payment to electronic payment in comparison to previous administrations’ handling similar programs to KWASSIP to relieve citizens when he was asked to give report of the exact beneficiaries from KWASSIP up to date.
Is this not laughable?!
Does Dr. Tejidini need to be ‘lectured’, even though he’s a lecturer, on ‘revolution’ in different sectors and why each lays foundation for others?
What one would have expected from him would have been to give adequate report on how KWASSIP selects its beneficiaries and as well as the number of beneficiaries from each Senatorial District in the State. This would have answered the lack of transparency raised and as well as sectional treatment raised if Dr. Tejidini was very smart and competent.
In 2020, KWASSIP was established by Arakunrin Abdulrahman led administration with “lots of hope”. At creation, it was led by Mr. Muhammed Brimah, a Lagos based Kwaran who some believe has some financial expertises. He was later replaced with Mr. Qoweey Olododo, a fresh graduate of Agriculture from Kwara State University. Many believed this to be a downgrade and a deliberate arrangement by Arakunrin Abdulrahman to turn KWASSIP to his cow diary to be milking, especially for “political arrangements”.
Eventually, Mr. Qoweey was replaced with Dr. Tejidini, a more political oriented person to the previous DGs, as an acting DG. Since his assumption of office, Dr. Tejidini has not been shying away from making KWASSIP an extention of APC Secretariat. Many political meetings continue to be held in his office. Many political ‘decampees’ have been going to his office where he continues to welcome them to APC. The pictures of KWASSIP beneficiaries holding Arakunrin Abdulrahman’s portrait to show their allegiance to the party and to him as condition for their selection are out there. And the list is endless.
Leaving Dr. Tejidini’s incompetence and his shamelessly procured votes of confidence aside, KWASSIP has failed in its primary assignment.
With so much Ado about its creation, instead of reducing poverty level in Kwara State, KWASSIP and APC continue to make more Kwarans poorer. In 2018, Kwara State recorded 11.7% poverty rate. The last report had poverty rate in Kwara State, with the creation of KWASSIP, at 42.5%. By implication, what this tells us is that, poverty rate has increased by 363.24% from 2018 before Otoge-APC Government and KWASSIP to the last report about a year ago. Only God knows what our current poverty rate is at the moment.
On a final note, it’s high time Kwara State House of Assembly led by Speaker Danladi tried to be responsible. The irregularities in KWASSIP, with billions of Naira going in, is becoming so alarming each day. Not only Dr. Tejidini, but also Ogbeni Ajakaye should be summoned, investigated, and asked to give his account(s) in relation to the running of affairs of KWASSIP as revealed by acting DG of KWASSIP, Dr. Tejidini. Going forward, it should be ensured that the leader of KWASSIP be competent, with good confidence, just person who will not be sectional and someone who will be transparent and accountable to Kwarans, not only to the Governor on his aide(s).
Arc. Ayuba Musbau Kawu writes from Warah/Osin/Egbejila Ward, Ilorin West LGA, Ilorin, Kwara State.
