Legal Expert Warns Of ‘Dangerous Governance Vacuum’ In Kwara Over Expired Boards
A prominent legal practitioner and former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin Branch, Taofiq Olateju, Esq., has called on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to urgently reconstitute statutory commissions and governing boards of key state agencies whose tenures have expired.
In an open letter addressed to the governor, Olateju expressed concern over what he described as a “dangerous governance vacuum” caused by the prolonged non-appointment of board members for agencies, including the Kwara State Judicial Service Commission and the Kwara State Sports Commission.
According to him, the tenure of the Judicial Service Commission, chaired by the Chief Judge of Kwara State, expired on July 21, 2025, while that of the Sports Commission, led by Coach Bolakale Adisa Mogaji, lapsed on August 2, 2025.
“The absence of these boards essentially renders these agencies non-compliant with the very laws that created them,” Olateju said. “This omission flouts existing laws and creates a culture of impunity which is now being witnessed in our state.”
He warned that the delay in reconstitution undermines statutory compliance, weakens democratic values, and erodes public trust. “Without boards, there is no independent oversight of budget implementation, contracts, or agency performance,” he stressed.
The legal practitioner also compared Kwara’s situation to other northern states such as Kano, Sokoto, Niger, Katsina, Bauchi, Plateau, Jigawa, and Zamfara, which he said have all constituted functional boards within their legal timelines.
Olateju further cautioned that the prolonged failure to act could have severe political consequences for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). “Failure to constitute the relevant commissions and boards may soon become a political liability. Like insecurity, inflation, and infrastructural decay, the lack of institutional frameworks to anchor responsive governance could prove fatal to the APC’s legitimacy in the state,” he warned.
He concluded by urging the governor, who also serves as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, to “act swiftly to reverse this dangerous trend and re-align Kwara State with the legal and institutional standards that once made it a beacon of reform in Northern Nigeria.”
“This is not just a call for board appointments; it is a call to restore the soul of Kwara’s governance,” he emphasised.
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