VIDEO: Saliu Mustapha Reclaims Ubandawaki Health Centre Converted To PDP Secretariat

•••Foundation begins renovation works this week.

Help has finally located the people of Ubandawaki Olowo as the All Progressives Congress candidate in the Kwara Central Senatorial election, Saliu Mustapha, through his foundation, Saliu Mustapha Foundation, reclaims the community's health centre which the Peoples Democratic Party had previously converted into a secretariat. 

The health facility, comprising eight rooms, was built by the Governor Mohammed Lawal-led administration in 2002.

The former Governor, however, could not complete the project because his reelection bid failed and his successor, former Governor Bukola Saraki, abandoned it. 

According to a representative of the community, Abdullahi Olowo, all that was left before the abandonment was the supply and installation of some health equipment and posting of health workers to the facility.

Watch the video below;

"Because Lawal lost his second bid, the Bukola administration did not complete it."

Olowo mentioned that instead of completing it, some highly placed public office holders from the ward who were serving in the ward then, facilitated the conversion of the facility to the PDP secretariat.

"They gave our ward some money to convert the health centre to PDP secretariat," he said.

Although the PDP candidate, Bolaji Abdullahi, from Ubandawaki Ward, served during the same period as Special Adviser Strategy and Communications to the then Gov. Bukola Saraki, it could not be ascertained whether he was responsible for the conversion.

Continuing, Olowo expressed the interest and efforts of the community to reclaim the health centre from the PDP.

He said, "We tried to reclaim it. We are planning to return it back to its former state as a clinic. The PDP members defaced the building and removed some of the windows before leaving." 

Coming to the rescue of the community, Saliu Mustapha visited the dilapidated structure on Thursday.

Pictures and videos obtained by our correspondent showed that the building had been thoroughly defaced by the PDP with the party's logo still visible on the wall.

Turaki, however, made a promise to reclaim it and renovate the project in conjunction with the Kwara state government. 

It was gathered that the state government, through the health ministry, had made provisions for the equipment and staffing to aid immediate resumption, while the Turaki is expected to fix the civil works.

Reacting to this, one of the community leaders, Habeeb Abdulrasak, said it is shameful that the PDP bigwigs in the ward, particularly Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, had not deemed it fit to fix what is supposed to be beneficial to a large number of residents of the ward 

According to him, the brazen conversion of the health facility to a secretariat shows that Abdullahi and the PDP do not mean well for the people. 

"How can he, who is claiming to be our son, watch us suffer like this for years and fail to equip that centre when he had the opportunity? Instead, he looked away while it was being converted to a secretariat by his political party, the PDP." Abdulrasak queried.

Another resident, AbdulRahman Rasheed, while appreciating Mustapha's gesture, said the act of the PDP candidate is at variance with his 'big ideas' mantra.

"He keeps shouting big ideas but turns a blind eye to our needs. We've received scholarship, empowerment, etc from the APC candidate, while our son keeps sweet talking us with bug grammar."

"While his opponent is making visible impacts, he is there speaking grammar that leads to nowhere. We do not need leaders like this as representatives," Rasheed said.