By Abdullateef Ishowo
While political friction deepens across Kwara State, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Production Services and Rural Development, has intensified a results-first mandate with two landmark interventions within days.
The Presidential approval of the Oko-Olowo Junction Flyover in Ilorin, and the flag-off of a N1.5 billion agricultural inputs programme for smallholder farmers across Kwara Central will both address two urgent imperatives: mobility and food security.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's, approval of the construction of the Oko-Olowo Flyover, a project long overdue at one of Ilorin’s most accident-prone and congested intersections goes a long way in saving lives of Nigerians.
The approval follows Senator Mustapha’s motion on the floor of the Senate on November 26, 2024, and months of targeted advocacy with the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, and the Honourable Minister of State for Works, Barrister Bello Muhammad Goronyo.
Upon completion, the flyover will reduce fatalities, eliminate perennial gridlock, and improve the flow of goods, services, and commuters across the state capital and its hinterlands. It is infrastructure with immediate safety dividends and long-term economic multiplier effects.
Senator Mustapha launched the sixth phase of his agricultural support programme: N1.5 billion in productivity assets for farmers. The package includes 5,000 bags of NPK fertiliser, 2,500 bags of urea, 1,000 knapsack sprayers, 250 power tillers, and 500 water pump machines.
The intervention cuts across AFAN, RIFAN, the Kwara State Association of Fish Farmers, AMANA Farmers Association, Nigerian Women for Agricultural Progress, NAWIA, the Agric Desk of the Kwara Chamber of Commerce, independent farmers, and APC members in farming.
Represented by Alhaji Adebayo Ambali, Director-General of his Constituency Office, the Senator said the programme was designed for precision timing and maximum impact. “This aligns directly with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to achieve national food security through increased agricultural productivity,” Ambali stated.
Senator Mustapha urged beneficiaries to apply the inputs with discipline to extract optimal yields this season. He reaffirmed his commitment to sustained, evidence-based interventions that raise rural incomes.
Engr. Shuaibu Ajibola Salman, Kwara AFAN Chairman, described the distribution as “timely, strategic, and scale-appropriate.” Mallam Soliu Mohammed, Kwara RIFAN Chairman, said the Senator’s “consistent inclusion of rice farmers reflects a deliberate policy, not a gesture.”
In a season defined by intra-party contests, Senator Mustapha has opted for delivery over distraction. The message is unmistakable: critical infrastructure will move, farms will be resourced, and Kwara’s development will not be held hostage by politics.
With the flyover now approved and thousands of farmers input-ready, the focus shifts from rhetoric to results.
-• Abdullateef Ishowo is the Director of Media and Strategic Communication to Senator Saliu Mustapha
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