Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Kwara State government said it used some of the funds earlier looted by government officials, but later recovered were used to establish isolation centres in the state.
The centres were set up to fight the dreadful coronavirus, which has infected not less than four persons in the north central state of the federation.
Recall that recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) handed over about N200 million recovered from those who allegedly looted them to the state government.
The funds were received on behalf of the state government by the Kwara State Governor, Mr AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq.
Zonal Office of the EFCC in Ilorin handled the handing over of N263.3 million to the state in March 2020, being recovered money stolen from the Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
Governor AbdulRazaq, while giving an update on COVID-19 in Kwara State, commended the EFCC for the recovery, emphasising that the funds have been a life-saver for the state at this critical time.
He added that his administration has also used part of the funds to revamp the state’s hitherto ailing health sector.
“We have bought five new ambulances. We presently have three on the ground and two are on the way.
“We have 10 ventilators now and we expect to have 30 by the end of the month and that’s one of the highest in the country today. We now have a mobile X-ray machine too,” the Governor said.
Speaking further, he said, “This facility comes handy at this time. If for whatever reason any of our patients requires oxygen, Kwara does not need to buy oxygen from any private sources or other states.
“In fact, the plant’s capacity is such that we can sell to private hospitals and some other states. On Thursday, we supported the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital with 13 small cylinders and one big cylinder of oxygen.”
