LG boss lauds Tinubu over reforms

Chairman of Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nuhu Podo,

The Chairman of Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nuhu Podo, has lauded the reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration, saying they have increased financial resources available to local governments for grassroots development.

Podo stated this in Ilorin while presenting his administration’s two-year scorecard, where he highlighted more than 130 projects and interventions executed across the council’s 11 wards.

The chairman said the removal of fuel subsidy, foreign exchange reforms and increased financial autonomy for local governments had improved the capacity of the council to execute development projects.

He said the council, with the support of the state government, had implemented projects in security, education, electricity, water supply, roads and administrative infrastructure.

On security, Podo said his administration had employed an additional 150 security personnel and distributed 50 motorcycles for community surveillance.

He added that the council upgraded the Civil Defence Outpost in Alagbado to a full division and donated a Sienna bus to strengthen patrol operations.

According to him, the measures were aimed at improving security and the council’s response to security concerns across the local government.

In the education sector, Podo said the council had renovated classrooms and principals’ offices in some schools, distributed writing materials to reduce the financial burden on parents, and constructed a multipurpose hall at Sheikh AbdulSalam Junior Secondary School.

• Petrol imports fall as Dangote stock hits 631m litres
• Atiku demands answers as Nigeria’s debt hits N166.79tn
• Not so ok

Podo added that the council, through the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, facilitated the renovation of junior secondary schools in Isale Maliki, Ajibesin and other communities.

He disclosed that the council sponsored 30 students at the College of Health Sciences, Osogbo.

“We also constructed a multipurpose hall at Sheikh AbdulSalam Junior Secondary School and named it the Mutawalli of Ilorin Hall, in recognition of the importance of supporting educational development,” he said.

The chairman said the council had also made interventions in the power sector, noting that he received the 2025 Nigerian Local Government Chairmen Merit Award for the distribution of 17 transformers serving communities across the local government.

On water supply, Podo said the administration had drilled new boreholes and repaired existing ones across the 11 wards to improve residents’ access to potable water.

Podo commended Tinubu for the reforms, which he said had strengthened the financial capacity of local governments to execute projects and provide services at the grassroots.

The chairman was accompanied at the briefing by the Vice Chairman, Joel Mary Abiodun; Council Secretary, Mohammed Hameed; and Speaker of the Legislative Arm, Jimoh Taibat Tope.