Uthman, who spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, after the inauguration of the new executives of the union, said that Ilorin needed development and expansion of itYs infrastructure as it grows daily.

He said his team would work together with all stakeholders, including government at all levels, in their avowed determination to attract development to Ilorin emirate.

While pledging to be fair to everybody in the discharge of his duties, Uthman said effective service delivery, financial prudence, transparency and accountability would be the hallmark of his administration.

The IEDPU president added, “We shall at all times follow due process, and laid -down rules and regulations in running the affairs of our great union.

“We shall make deliberate efforts to unite our people and carry everyone along in our efforts to attract the desired development to our emirate. We shall also do everything humanly possible to safeguard the much- cherished peace and harmony which Ilorin is known for, and as well ensure that Ilorin continues to be relevant on the national scene.”

Uthman praised his predecessor, Alhaj Abdulhamid Adi, and his team for taking IEDPU to an enviable height, and promised to build upon his legacies.

In a brief remark, the outgone IEDPU president, Adi thanked God that the convention that brought in the new executives was peaceful and advised the new excecutives to manage the resources of the union well.

The oath of office was administered on the new executives by Barrister Abdul Oba.
Source: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/ilorin-emirate-new-exco-to-pursue-development-agenda.html

Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, described the emir as an exceptional royal father whose reign has been peaceful and phenomenal in the Ilorin Emirate in particular and in Kwara State in general.

He stated that the Emir has continued to encourage progressive initiatives that have engendered unity, peace and tolerance in and around the state.

According to him, these are worthy of emulation.

“I join all Kwarans and Nigerians at large to congratulate you on your 22nd anniversary on the highly revered throne of the Ilorin Emirate.

“It is my prayer that Allah grant you excellent health, prosperity and many more years to continue in your immeasurable service to the people of Ilorin, Kwara State and the nation at large,” he said.
Source: https://guardian.ng/news/saraki-congratulates-emir-of-ilorin-on-22nd-anniversary/

He noted that science students often battled challenges such as inadequate lecturers and laboratory equipment as well as epileptic power supply.

Ambali’s views were supported by the Provost, College of Education, Ilorin, Dr. Isiaka Opobiyi; a lecturer at Unilorin, Dr. Abubakar Aliaga, a former Kwara State Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Raji Mohammed and The President, The Third Estate, Alhaji Ahmed Bolaji-Nagode.

They spoke on Monday on the sidelines of a summit by the Third Estate in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Ambali said, “While Arts students can manage to read with torchlight, science students need facilities for practical classes. The challenge is that you cannot have practical classes without power supply. ”

In his remarks, Bolaji-Nagode stated that the group had awarded scholarship to indigent students and provided boreholes to communities.

He added that the association would train some indigenes on ICT to become self-employed.

Nagode said, “We are alive to the need to shift attention from white collar jobs to self sufficiency and employment. We intend to sponsor the training of select young graduates from the emirate to acquire skills in information technology.

“The objective of this initiative is to make them self-employed upon the completion of their programme and also to become potential employers of labour in the IT market.”

The Director, Test Administration and Evaluation, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Dr. Yusuf Lawal, said that more candidates applied for Arts and Management courses than Science courses. Lawal, who was the guest lecturer at the event, said it was imperative to encourage more candidates to study Science courses to attain technological advancement.
Source: http://punchng.com/unilorin-vc-canvasses-support-for-science-ict-education/

The union lamented that over 30 persons had so far been killed in the last six months in various brutal attacks carried out by rival cult groups in various parts of the state.

The union also asked the communities to name those involved in the sales of liquor and those involved in smoking of cannabis sativa and other prohibited substances as one of the steps towards eradicating the societal vices.

Addressing a security stakeholders meeting held at the union’s national secretariat in Ilorin, its national president, Alhaji Abdulhamid Adi, expressed sadness that Ilorin emirate which was hitherto known for peace and harmony had been turned into theatre of war.

“Level of criminality is getting worrisome within the metropolis .In the last 6 months more than 30 lives were lost due to cult activites.

“Notorious areas include Agbo -Oba, Gada, Edun,Gambari, and Ajikobi. The latest ones about two weeks ago were at Okesuna, Stadium etc”, he said.

Adi, spoke further that the union conveyed the stakeholders meeting to rub minds with stakeholders on how to nip the alarming trend in the bud.

As a step toward addressing the menace, Chairman, IEDPU Security committee, Ambassador Usman Abduazeez, said unless members of every community volunteer to purge their areas of crimes the anti-cult war and other prevailing security challenges might be difficult to win.

He urged every community to come up with the lists of suspected cult members and criminal for security agencies to act upon.

Abdulazeez, however, warned people against taking laws into their hands, stressing that they must, at all times, act within the confines of the law.

The meeting was attended by Divisional Police Officers, representatives of Department of State Security Services, vigilante and Metro security initiatives set up by the IEDPU in various communities.
Source: http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/lets-save-ilorin-criminals-iedpu-president/

In its efforts to encourage academic excellence among youths of Ilorin Emirate, the Third-Estate is planning special scholarships for indigent Students who are exceptionally brilliant in high institutions.

The newly elected President of Third-Estate, Mr. Ahmed Bolaji Nagode made the disclosure after his election at the Annual General Meeting of the forum held in Kwara Hotel Ilorin at the weekend. Nagode who commended the outgoing executive members where he served as the Vice President promised to sustain the tempo of development and progress of the socio-cultural organisation.

He said: “I must commend the outgoing Executive Members for initiating various projects and programmes during their. The Exco under Mr. Yusuf Lawal successfully renovated schools, provided a new Constitutions for the Third-Estate, donated funds towards maintenance of Central Mosque Ilorin, completed skill acquisition centre, developed a functional website and hosted Security and Economic Summits towards peace and progress of the state. “This are indeed remarkable achievements that we promised to sustain and improved upon.”

Also speaking at the occasion, the outgoing President of Third-Estate, Dr. Yusuf Lawal expressed deep appreciation to the members for the privilege of serving the group.

Mr. Lawal said: “For us, it has been an extreme pleasure of having the opportunity to serve the Ilorin Emirate and contribute in our own humble ways to the advancement of its interests. Our experience in the last four years has reinforced our confidence in the capacity and potentials of our people to build a great, prosperous and united community if we focus more on what unites us rather than our differences (if any).

“We must renew our vow to continuously work for the upliftment of our community and improvement of the lives of our people. We have tried in our own humble way to contribute to the development process of Ilorin Emirate. However, the challenges that confront the people are huge and multidimensional.

“I therefore urge the incoming Executive to work hard in order to sustain the tempo of development in Ilorin Emirate. They must jealously guide the reputation of Third Estate as the vanguard of development and refrain from any sectional or partisan tendency that may compromise such reputation. They must be innovative and proactive in addressing emerging challenges.”

Other elected executive officersincluded Ahmed Bolaji Nagode President; Toyin Hassan Vice President 1 and Ahmed Gobir Vice President II. Others officers were returned based on a constitutional amendment. They include Dr. Isiaka Yahaya Alada, Secretary General; Shehu Usman Aladire, Treasurer; Yushau Shuaib Agaka, Publicity Secretary; Saad Danmusa, Assistant Secretary General and Barr. Abdulhakeem U. Mustapha, SAN Legal Adviser. PRNigeria

Read more at: https://prnigeria.com/2017/04/third-estate-institutes-scholarship/

Besides, over 500 students from Ilorin Emirate also got various amounts for the payment of West African Examination Council (WAEC) fees at the instance of Saraki’s scholarship scheme.

Saraki is representing Kwara Central in the National Assembly, which comprises Asa, Ilorin West, Ilorin East and Ilorin South Local Government Areas.

A statement issued by the Director, Media and Publicity of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Constituency Office, Alhaji Abdullahi Oganija, said the intervention became imperative in view of the people’s recurring demands. It said Saraki also increased the payment of WAEC fees of another 80 students of the emirate.

The statement said the gesture was borne out of Saraki’s desire to boost the level of education in the emirate, adding that the constituency office would remain committed to the well-being of the less privileged in the society so as to move the state forward.
Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/02/28/1210-indigent-kwara-students-get-sarakis-free-utme-forms-2/

Announcing the induction, the union’s President, Alhaji AbdulHamid Adi, said the inductees were honoured for their various contributions to the development of the emirate.

Adi said the union had recorded many achievements, particularly in the area of education including the establishment six secondary schools in the last 50 years.

According to him, the induction is aimed encouraging others to emulate the inductees.

The Emir of llorin, Alhaji lbrahim Sulu-Gambari; late General Tunde ldiagbon; former governor of the state, late retired Rear Admiral Mohammed Lawal; and a non-indigene of llorin and proprietor of Al-Hikmah University, the first private university in Kwara, Alhaji AbdulRahim Oladimeji, were the inductees.

The post-humous inductees included the 9th Emir of Ilorin, Zulukarnaini Mohammed Gambari; first Mufti of Ilorin, Sheik Muhammad Kamamaldeen, and founder of Markaz School of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Agege, Lagos, Sheikh Adam Abdullahi El-Ilori.

Others were Dr Olusola Saraki, the immediate past Waziri of Ilorin and Second Republic Senate leader; former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, retired Maj.-Gen.l Tunde Idiagabon; and former Minister of Works and Transport, retired Maj.-Gen.General Abdulkareem Adisa.

Also inducted into IEDPU’s Hall of Fame were two female daughters of the emirate, a former Minister of Environment, Hajiya Halimat Tayo Alao, and a former Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Halimat Yusuf.

Responding, Alhaji Saka Onimago, the Senior Legislative Assistant to the Senate President whose father was an inductee, said the exercise was the greatest honour that could be done to any indigene of the emirate.

He gave the assurance that the honour done to the late Waziri of Ilorin will spur members of the family to contribute further to the development of the emirate.
Source: http://www.pulse.ng/news/local/ilorin-emirate-20-prominent-indigenes-inducted-into-hall-of-fame-id4499967.html

Ahmed made this known while speaking at a function organised by members of the ‘Third Estate,’ in Ilorin on Tuesday. The governor said this was against the monthly revenue of N500 million the state used to generate before the introduction of new revenue collection strategy through the State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS).

He noted that state government must look beyond earnings from the federation account in order to survive present funding challenges. According to the governor, his administration has since changed the process of revenue generation without introducing new taxes to meet the current challenges of infrastructural development.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State “I am happy that the consciousness has come to us as a country, as a state and most importantly as a government that we cannot continue to depend on federation allocations. “Hence, we have been able to drive our internally generated revenue by changing the process and the personnel,” he explained. He said that the state government would have been in dire financial challenges but for the increased internally generated revenue.

Ahmed added that whatever comes from the federation account were used in paying salaries and wages. The governor added that his government has resolved not to lay off workers at state and local government in order not to compound the prevailing difficulties. Ahmed said as part of his administration’s effort to drive agriculture as money earner for the state, it has earmarked 10, 000 hectares of land for next farming season to deepen the administration’s off- taker demand driven initiative in agriculture. Earlier in his remarks, the chairman, Third Estate, Dr Yusuf Lawal, said the body has rendered community support to the people.

Lawal listed such support to include provision of borehole, financial assistance to indigent students and scholarship to brilliant students for post graduates studies from Ilorin Emirate.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/kwara-govt-now-generates-n1-5bn-monthly-revenue-says-gov-ahmed/

The frontage of the emir’s palace in Ilorin, the state capital was filled to capacity with guests from all walks of life that looked resplendent in different Islamic attires. The old and the young, male and female all converged to celebrate what the community and its people cherish most, the Qur’an.

An outsider would have wondered why such a huge celebration was being staged for the participants of the Qur’anic competition but to a typical Ilorin person or those who understand the city’s culture, the merrymaking was an affirmation of the place of the Quran in the identity of the emirate. The Qur’an, which is the Muslim holy book, containing the words and commandments of Allah to mankind, is a symbol of Ilorin emirate’s Islamic identity.

If Ilorin, a predominantly Islamic city, is widely known as a community of scholars, the deep knowledge of the holy Quran is not in doubt. This also reflects in the dynamism employed in Qur’anic recitation using different tones identified with prominent scholars within the emirate and its environs.

Thus, the reception organised for the state winners of the competition was attended by prominent political leaders and scholars within and outside the community. The presence of Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed did not only add colour to the event, it signposted his belief in the holiness of Qur’an and the cultural heritage of the people of Ilorin emirate.

The reception ceremony however, coincided with the loss of the chairman of the Qur’an Competition Committee, the 88-year-old Alhaji Abdulsalam Ayinla Ayilara, who passed on penultimate Tuesday, three days to the programme.

Ayilara, according to the community, was one of the prominent sons of Ilorin emirate who worked tirelessly for the promotion of Qur’anic learning by providing an apartment in his house to camp participants representing the state annually at the competition.

While mourning the deceased, the community deemed it fit to carry on with his legacy by celebrating the winners of the competition and preserving the emirate’s cultural identity. Several Islamic groups and key figures in the state graced the occasion.

As the governor and emir were seated, the awardees rode on different horses majestically to the venue, signaling the start of the programme with the recitation of the Qur’an rendered by the Ajanasi Agba (chief translator) of Ilorin. His rendition also reminded many of the creativity with which Ilorin people introduce to Qua’rnic recitation, using tones and pitches that make it interesting to listeners.

In addition, there was the traditional Mad’hu Nabiy (praises of Prophet Mohammed) while a local Islamic musician entertained the guests and emphasised the need to jealously guard the tradition of Ilorin emirate and ensure that the Qur’anic culture is preserved for generations yet unborn.

Alhaji AbdulHamid Adi, national president of Ilorin Emirate Descendants’ Progressives Union, a socio-cultural organisation of Ilorin emirate indigenes at home and abroad, explained that the Qur’an is like the heart and soul of Ilorin. He said the annual celebration of the winners of the competition was aimed at encouraging others to memorise and learn the Qur’an.

“Qur’an in Ilorin is so important that the life within the emirate revolves round the holy Qur’an, not necessarily being the sharia thing but Qur’an is so important that you can use it to cure yourself, you can use it to have knowledge and you can use it to even pray to Allah. Anything in Ilorin without the Qur’an is nothing and it is not important to us. It is more or less the heart of Ilorin. This culture must not die. So that is why it is being organised every year to encourage people, to promote it so that we don’t allow it to die,” Adi told Weekly Trust.

Chairman of Shehu Alimi Islamic Foundation, who doubles as chairman of the state Arabic Board, Dr. Abdulrasaq Oba Sholagberu, said the reception was part of the drive to sustain the rich cultures and traditions of Ilorin emirate and called on other traditional rulers in the state to promote the Islamic culture in their domains to serve as a recipe for various societal ills.

The Qur’an has incontrovertibly stipulated rules and regulations for a Muslim to live a pious life. It forbids evil and encourages virtuous deeds. Alhaji Yusuf Lanre Badmas, a professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Ilorin in his inaugural lecture titled ‘Utilising the Qur’an, Stabilising the Society,’ said: “If the Qur’an as a great treasure had been allowed to influence this life of ours, humankind would not have undergone and experienced series of the past and present calamities.”

Therefore, for Ilorin emirate indigenes, it is one thing to celebrate the Qur’an and it is another to allow the teachings of the holy book permeate their entire lives. This was the kernel of the message by Governor Ahmed, who advised parents to give their children and wards Qur’anic education alongside its Western counterpart.

The governor, who observed that Islam was undergoing what he described as a global test, stressed the need for adherents to change the wrong perceptions of non-Muslims about their religion by using Islam as a tool for positive change the world over.

“And the only way to achieve this is to make the glorious Qur’an our guiding principle and emulate the sterling qualities of Prophet Mohammad. Islam also respects the rights of adherents of other religions without discriminating against them,” the governor said.

The Emir of Ilorin, who said he was impressed by the performance of the state representatives at the annual Qur’anic contest, stated that he would continue to accord the participants respect and honour as ambassadors of the community. He then called on sons and daughters of Ilorin to promote the rich culture of the emirate by shunning acts capable of tarnishing the image of the ancient town.

It was a glorious day for the eight participants with three of them, Abdur-Rofih Abdulwahab Nagari, Murtado Katibi Olatunji and Aayatulahi Nagari, emerging winners in different categories. They were dazzled with different gifts, including laptops and money, as a way of appreciating them and encouraging their peers to memorise the Qur’an.

Sources: Weekly Trust May 14, 2015

The event will also be used to appreciate and present an award to the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed, including distinguished sons and daughters of the Emirate for their meaningful contributions to the development of the emirate and the state in general.

The launching which is expected to take place at Glover Memorial Hall, Custom Street, off Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will be graced by eminent and distinguished sons and daughters of the Emirate.

Among the dignitaries that are expected to grace the occasion include Governor Ahmed, the former governor of the state and now a distinguished senator at the Federal Assembly, Senator (Alhaji) Abubakar Bukola Saraki who will be chief launcher.

Also, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, the Emir of Ilorin is expected to be the Royal Father of the day while Alhaji Umoru Saro, a business tycoon is going to be the father of the day.

The Vice President, Commonwealth Association of Architects, responsible for Africa and Chairman, National Building Code Advisory Committee in Nigeria, Arc Muhammed Jamiu Faworaja is going to be the chairman of the occasion.

The National President of IEDPU, Alhaji Ahmed Hadi, his executive members and other eminent sons and daughters of the emirate in business and frontline politicians were to be guest of honour at the occasion, while Alhaji Dauda Aduamigba, the chairman, IEDPU, Western Zone is going to play the Chief Host. Alhaji Sheikh Sulaimon Farouq Onikijipa (Al-Miskin Billai) will be the guest lecturer.