Vice President Kashim Shettima is in Ilorin, Kwara State, today, Wednesday, September 16, to commission two major government projects as the state hosts the formal turbaning of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the Sardauna of Ilorin.
Shettima is scheduled to commission the newly completed Kwara Garment Factory and the 11-storey Kwara Revenue House, projects the state government says are designed to strengthen employment, industrial activity and public revenue administration.
The garment factory is one of the flagship projects of the AbdulRazaq administration and is projected by the state government to create more than 4,000 direct jobs when it reaches full multi-shift production capacity.
The government said more than 500 workers have already been recruited and trained for the factory’s initial phase of operations, with the workforce expected to grow as production expands.
The 11-storey Kwara Revenue House, on the other hand, is being developed as the headquarters of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS), bringing the agency’s operations together in a purpose-built facility.
According to the state government, construction of the Revenue House was funded with savings from consultancy fees that would otherwise have been paid to external revenue-collection consultants.
The government has listed the two facilities among more than 30 capital projects being executed across Kwara State, presenting them as part of its broader infrastructure and economic development programme.
After the project commissioning ceremonies, the focus will shift to the Emir’s Palace, where the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, is scheduled to formally confer the Sardauna of Ilorin title on Governor AbdulRazaq.
The turbaning ceremony is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m., with a reception expected to follow at the Atlantic Events Palace in Ilorin.
The Ilorin Emirate said the conferment of the title is in recognition of AbdulRazaq’s leadership, commitment to peace and unity, as well as development initiatives recorded during his administration.
The occasion is expected to draw governors, ministers, senior federal and state government officials, traditional rulers, security chiefs, Ilorin Emirate title holders and political leaders from across the country.
The combination of high-level government engagements and the traditional ceremony is expected to make Wednesday a significant day in Ilorin, with the commissioning of major public projects preceding the governor’s formal installation as Sardauna of Ilorin.