Hon. Saheed Popoola, PDP candidate for the Kwara South Senatorial seat, has said he understands how to fix the problems of Kwara South using the local method, and he is ready to bring that method to the Senate.
Popoola made this know while addressing journalists. Speaking to the press, Popoola said he has lived among the people of Kwara South and has visited communities across the senatorial district, including Offa, Omu-Aran, Erin Ile, Ijagbo, Ifelodun, Irepodun, Ekiti, Isin and Oke-Ero and many others.
He said he has sat with elders, farmers, traders, artisans, youths and women and has heard their concerns directly, not through reports or middlemen.
“The problems of Kwara South are not mysterious, they are visible and they are local,” he said.
He listed abandoned roads that connect farms to markets, dilapidated schools, health centres lacking equipment and staff, farmers lacking inputs and support, youths lacking jobs, women lacking support, and communities lacking attention from the state government, especially at a time when insecurity is on the high in the region.
Popoola said these problems cannot be solved with imported ideas from far away, and they cannot be solved by people who only visit Kwara South during election season.
“They must be solved using the local method,” he said.
He explained that the local method means starting from the ground, not from the office. It means asking the community what it needs before spending money on what it does not need.
“It means working with traditional rulers, community leaders, farmers, market women and teachers who know the terrain,” he said.
He added that the local method means respect for the community, its institutions, its wisdom, its history and its people.
Popoola said that as Senator, he will ensure federal projects are not imposed on communities but designed with them.
He said he will track, monitor and ensure that federal allocations, constituency projects and interventions are delivered to the right places.
“I will ensure that agriculture is supported locally, schools are revived, health centres are fixed, roads are opened, and youths and women are empowered,” he said.
He also promised that he will not be a Senator who disappears after election, but one who is present, listens, reports back, and accounts for every project.
“Kwara South does not need a Senator who is disconnected, but one who understands its problems, understands its people, and knows how to fix them locally, practically and accountably,” he said.
He concluded by saying he is ready for the job.