Ilorin West at a Crossroads: A Year of Governance Without Transparency

In a true democracy, leadership anniversaries are meant to be milestones of accountability, not spectacles of celebration. They should mark a sober evaluation of what has been achieved, what remains undone, and how resources entrusted to leaders have been deployed for the people. In Ilorin West Local Government, however, the recent one-year celebration of Hon. Shehu Abdulrahman Babatunde Ladan has left more questions than answers. Instead of opening the books of stewardship, the administration opted for a colourful empowerment jamboree, a display that may glitter in pictures but fails to substitute for genuine accountability.

At that ceremony, the Chairman distributed sewing machines, grinding machines, freezers, POS terminals, and school supplies to a handful of beneficiaries. While such gestures may be appreciated by those who received them, a glaring question remains: Can this truly be called a “mega empowerment”? For a local government that has consistently received over ₦500 million monthly in statutory allocations from the Federation Account (FAAC), alongside internally generated revenues (IGR), the people deserve far more than tokenistic handouts to a few hundred beneficiaries out of a population of hundreds of thousands. Governance is not measured by ceremonies but by transparency, structural development, and clear financial stewardship.

If Hon. Ladan is proud of his achievements, let him present the facts. How much exactly did Ilorin West receive from FAAC in the past year? What portion of these revenues was spent on infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social services? What were the IGR figures collected across markets, motor parks, and other sources within the local government? Where is the official budget that should outline his priorities and guide spending? Without these disclosures, his so-called empowerment remains nothing more than a political stage play, crafted for applause but empty of substance.

Even more troubling is the lack of financial transparency in local governance. Residents of Ilorin West have yet to see comprehensive expenditure reports, have yet to learn how their money has been utilized, and have yet to find evidence of cash-based empowerment programmes that could truly grow small and medium-scale businesses across the LGA. Instead, governance has been reduced to distributing items at ceremonies while critical developmental needs—such as roads, water, waste management, and primary healthcare—continue to languish.

Leadership at the grassroots is not about staging events or currying the praise of higher political figures. It is about accountability to the people who entrusted the mandate, even when that mandate itself is contested. A chairman who can not show receipts for his revenues and expenditures can not claim to embody good governance. To celebrate one year in office without presenting a detailed account of public resources is to trivialize the very essence of democracy at the local level.

As Ilorin West marks a year under this administration, the people must demand answers. They must ask for audited accounts, budget documents, IGR receipts, and verifiable projects that reflect the scale of funds received. Anything short of this is a betrayal of trust. Empowerment without transparency is propaganda; celebration without accountability is mockery.

Ultimately, the silence from Ilorin West’s leadership is a reflection of a broader culture of opacity that trickles down from the top. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as the Chief Executive of Kwara State and leader of the ruling party, can not be absolved of responsibility for the lack of accountability at the grassroots. The Governor’s own legacy is inextricably linked to the performance of the local government chairmen under his watch. If he champions transparency at the state level, he must demand and enforce it in all the LGAs. Tolerating or ignoring a lack of financial accountability in Ilorin West not only undermines good governance but also implicates the state government in the very failures it purports to condemn. The Governor must lead by example and ensure that chairmen like Hon. Ladan are held to the same standard of openness he expects for himself.

History will not remember the glamour of one-day ceremonies, but it will remember whether Hon. Ladan upheld the sacred responsibility of stewardship. He still has time to change course, to embrace openness, to show the figures, and to serve with transparency. Until then, Ilorin West’s one year of governance remains a story not of mega empowerment but of mega silence on accountability.