•• Proposes “Repair Agenda” to Contrast APC’s “Governance by Appearance”
A former Kwara Gubernatorial candidate, Professor Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia, Ph.D., has officially declared his intention to contest for the Governor of Kwara State under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking at a declaration gathering on Tuesday, the Professor and Chair of the School of Business at Lincoln University, USA, delivered a data-driven address titled “Systems First: A New Direction for Kwara.”
Ajia, a 2015 gubernatorial candidate known for his intellectual approach to governance, argued that Kwara’s potential remains untapped due to weak opportunity systems rather than a lack of hardworking citizens.
While maintaining a respectful tone, Prof. Ajia provided a sharp contrast between his “Systems First” philosophy and the current All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, where He characterized the existing governance style as “governance by appearance” rather than design.
“We see projects announced and commissioned, but they are not embedded in systems that ensure maintenance and measurable impact. People experience activity, but not reliability. Access to opportunity still depends too much on who you know. That is not development; that is discretion.” He said.
Ajia’s roadmap for the state is built on four critical pillars designed to move Kwara from “governance by announcement” to “governance by design”
He highlighted the four critical pillars as follow;
Opportunity Systems: Creating a credible jobs pipeline tied to real sector needs and reducing “friction” for small businesses through simplified levies.
Service Delivery: Moving away from commissioning individual projects toward building repeatable healthcare and education delivery systems that citizens can trust.
Public Finance Transparency: Building on Kwara’s current fiscal rankings (12th in BudgIT’s Q1 2025 report) to ensure procurement is open enough to eliminate suspicion, and
Institutional Security: Enhancing coordination between formal security agencies and community intelligence loops to restore grassroots confidence.
Citing recent evidence, Ajia highlighted the uneven experience of Kwarans. He noted that while child mortality indicators show promising signals, data suggests only 26% of children in Kwara received all recommended vaccines a gap he attributes to systemic failures in logistics and trust.
Prof. Ajia described his choice of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a strategic decision to join a platform that favors “competence over entitlement and seriousness over noise.” Seizing the platform to invite youth leaders, professionals, and the diaspora to join a coalition aimed at rebuilding the state’s democratic project.
“I did not come here to insult opponents or sell miracles. I came here to declare a direction and a discipline. Kwara can rise, but it will not happen by slogans; it will happen by design”, He added while urging Kwarans to join in his aspirations to emancipate the State from the current administration.
