Vice President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated the Kwara State Garment Factory and the 11-storey Kwara Revenue Service (KWRS) House in Ilorin as part of his official visit to the state.
The garment factory, a flagship project of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, is expected to create at least 4,000 jobs.
The Vice President commissioned the two projects on Wednesday ahead of the governor’s turbaning as the Sardauna of Ilorin Emirate by the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
Speaking at the turbaning ceremony at the Emir’s Palace, Shettima commended AbdulRazaq for sustaining his family’s legacy of service and strengthening his ties with the Ilorin Emirate.
He recalled that the governor’s late father, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Folorunsho AbdulRazaq, SAN, OFR, was Northern Nigeria’s first lawyer and the first Mutawalle of Ilorin, a title that remains associated with the family.
Shettima said the honour bestowed on AbdulRazaq reflected both his service to the state and the longstanding relationship between his family and the emirate.
“As Governor Abdulrazaq receives his turban, we remember those who preceded him, and we offer prayers for the generations who will encounter this occasion through the stories their elders preserve,” he said.
The Vice President also described his relationship with AbdulRazaq as one built on friendship and shared responsibilities, particularly through the National Economic Council.
He said their engagements at the council involved discussions on economic policies, financing and how government programmes could respond to the needs of communities across the federation.
Shettima commended AbdulRazaq’s administration for its interventions in education, healthcare and road infrastructure, saying the projects had improved access to essential services and connected communities.
He urged that such investments be sustained to enable future generations to build on them.
Governors of Imo, Kebbi, Plateau, Ekiti, Ogun, Niger, Bayelsa and Kaduna states attended the ceremony.
Other dignitaries included First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, represented by the Vice President’s wife, Hajiya Nana Shettima; Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; Emir of Zazzau, Nuhu Bamalli; and the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Orumogege III.
