When on May 29, 2023, Governor Umaru Baago was sworn in as Niger State Governor.the citizen might not known that a legacy and a right man is mantling the affairs of the state.
But few months after resuming office of the governor the magix hands of Nigerian banker turned politician is begining to show. Little wonder, despite the general security challenges in the country expecially the Niger state, Governor Baago was able to turn aorund many things in the state which we are mentioning few of his achiefments.
Umaru Baago born on 22nd February, 1974 choose to change the life of Niger State and its citizens to a better and laying foundation for other state governor in Nigeria to emulate.
Below are some of the projects Governor Umaru Baago layed his hands on as the state governor.
Governor Bago’s vision goes beyond just increasing food production; it encompasses a comprehensive strategy to transform the agricultural sector .
Niger State, through Niger Foods, is currently cultivating maize, rice, millet, soybeans, sorghum, and sesame on approximately 250,000 hectares of land at various locations throughout the state, including Bobi Grazing Reserve, Durgu, Funfuwa, Tegina, Wushishi, etc
GENERAL INFORMATION
Niger State was created the then North Western State on 3rd February, 1976 by the then regime of General Murtala Mohammed. It has Minna as it’s capital. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja.
Located in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, Niger State covers 76,363 square kilometres. It is the largest Nigerian state by land area.
The state has a small majority of Muslims. The state is named for the River Niger. Two of Nigeria’s major hydroelectric power stations are located in Niger State: the Kainji dam and the Shiroro dam. Kainji National Park is also situated in Niger State. It contains the lake formed by the Kainji dam. It is the largest National Park of Nigeria, but a lot of the wildlife has disappeared.
Niger State shares boundaries with Kaduna State and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja States in the East and South-East respectively, Kebbi and Zamfara in the North, Kwara and Kogi States in the South and Benin Republic in the East.
The areas making up Niger State today comprised the old Nupe and Kontogora Kingdos, Abuja (now Suleja) with link to the famous kingdom of Zauzau and a host of other political entities. The old Nupe Kingdom today has been broken administratively into the Bida Emirate (encompassing Gbako and Lavun Local Government areas) and the Agaie and Lapai emirates.
Similarly, old Kontagora now comprises Kontagora emirates within which there are the chiefdom of Wushish, the territories of Sarkin Bauchi and the Chiefdom of Kagara, all administratively grouped into the Mariga, Magama and Rafi Local Governments.
ECONOMY
Generally, agricultural activities form the mainstay of the people’s economy and engage directly or indirectly more than 80 percent of the population.
Baago
The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago has taken off with a sense of purpose. While it is not a 100-day yet, keen observers are seeing a fruitful pattern that holds a promise of progress and development.
Urbang renewable projects
MINNA URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT: GOVERNOR BAGO’S BOLD STEPS TOWARDS A MODERN NIGER STATE
Gov Bago commends road project contractors in 25 Niger LGAs
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has applauded contractors executing various road projects across the 25 local government areas of the state.
The governor made the recommendation when he met the contractors at the Government House Minna.
He said the appreciation was necessary considering the good job they were doing, in line with the New Niger Agenda.
—Arresting the Water Challenge
Everything Governor Umaru Bago has done suggests His Excellency came prepared. On the Inauguration Day, the demolition of a Police Station sitting on a water pipeline was announced and promptly carried out.
Further to this, the government has relocated the police station to a more convenient location in the same Chanchaga area, only a stone throw-away from the demolished location.
Governor Bago is most appreciative of the importance of police in maintaining peace and order in any community and will continue to provide support for the force to continue the good job of maintaining order in the state.
All these and other measures such as reticulation, ensuring water pipelines are free of obstruction are being taken so that the problem of water in the capital will be addressed and laid to rest once and for all.
—Addressing the Problems of Education
While this sector will require a significant investment to address the problem of infrastructure and quality so as to dramatically reverse the number of out of school children in the state, as well as avoid the ceaseless embarrassment being faced each year from examination bodies by withholding results due to non-payment of examination fees by the government, Governor Bago has taken the right step in the right direction by meeting with Examination Bodies and setting up a sustainable repayment plan of debt (30m monthly) so as to ensure that the result of Nigerlites are no longer withheld over a matter of debt.
—The Niger State Urban Renewal Plan
A need to address the deficit in infrastructure is at the center of the objectives of the Bago-led government. Already a preparatory visit to CCECC has been carried out to judge the capacity of the construction company in the readiness for the Minna Urban Renewal Project that will place the capital and other towns in the state at par with other developed cities in Nigeria.
—Harnessing the Potential of Suleja
Because of her proximity to Abuja, and the enterprising nature of her residents, Suleja has been one of the commercial towns of Niger state. The potential for the town is enormous and Governor Bago is working to ensure that all of it are achieved.
His Excellency has already taken intense steps to recover government-owned lands that were illegally acquired and repurposed. Already the process of the construction and relocation of Madalla market so as to decongest the town and ease traffic has been initiated and results are already being recorded, users of the road on Thursdays can testify that there is no longer gridlock on the road which before now will have users spent hours on a five-minute movement.
—Security
The policies for addressing the challenges of insecurity in the state will remain a continuous one. Governor Bago has shown willingness to use local resources to address the issue while remaining open to collaborative efforts with the Federal Government. This has been demonstrated with the recent visits to Service Chiefs and a private meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Although the service chiefs were later retired by the President but the result of his visit can still be seen. The Governor will continue to use all within his powers to keep the state safe.
—Investment Promotion for Job Creation
Governor Umaru Bago has been marketing Niger State as the idle investment destination in Nigeria especially to business persons and developmental partners invested in Agriculture, Renewable Energy, ICT and Education. To affirm this, the Governor visited the Nigerian office of the African Development Bank where he met with a team led by DG of Nigerian office to discuss partnership with the state. The meeting was appreciated by the team and has led to the birth of a committee which will now work directly with the organization to see to bringing several interventions to the State.
Also, in a recent visit to the France Embassy, His Excellency met with the France Ambassador to understand collaborative areas for the development of agricultural and the improvement of the lives of those in the rural areas.
Similarly, the Niger State Government is making ready to host a Green Summit upcoming summit which will be a pivotal platform for unveiling the Niger State Blueprint on Green Economy. This comprehensive roadmap will guide the efforts of the State Government in achieving a sustainable and prosperous Niger for all.
—State Development Plan (SDP)
It will be recalled that Gov. Bago also received report from the Niger Development Forum headed by the immediate past Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Alh. Zubairu Dada. The forum is made up of technocrats, politicians and captains of industries. The content of the report is a Development Plan that covers all sectors and will be considered for use as a tool to plan for the development in Niger state.
Governor Bago has also ensured the availability of resources to the 25 Local Government Authorities in the state.
This is in accordance with FAC guidelines and allocations and also in tandem with His Excellency’s vision for accelerated development in the state by deepening the autonomy of LGAs.
It is His core belief that, being the Government closest to the people, the LGAs should enjoy the most support from the state to allow them deliver the devidends of democracy to our people.
All of the above strides are part of a roadmap that’s currently being developed by a community of Niger State intelligentsia to ensure that the economic future of the state is carefully planned, managed to ensure that the state is peaceful, educated, developed to ensure that her economy is sustainable and resilient.
Abdullberqy U Ebbo is the Special Adviser on Digital Communications to Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State.
MECHANISED AGRICULTURE: FARMER GOVERNOR UMARU BAGO FLAGS-OFF CORN HARVEST OF NIGER FOODS
In a bid to achieve his Feed the nation agenda through mechanize Agriculture, Niger State Governor, farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago has flagged-off the Niger Foods corn harvest
Farmer Governor Umaru Bago who was at one of the corn farms of Niger Foods along Bida, flagged-off the harvest using a combined harvester.
The farmer Governor, who was filled with delight, said there are more than 100,000 Hectares of corn fields of Niger Foods spread across the State and that 100 combined harvesters have been deployed across the farms.
He said the use of the combined harvesters would reduce losses between 80 and 90 percent even as the State is expecting about a million metric tonnes of corn this year aside Rice, Soya bean, Sesame, Guinea corn and Millet.
The farmer Governor called on the State Task Force for Price control to immediately come up with measures that would curtail the activities of aggregators that stuck pile food items in their warehouses which he said often lead to hike in prices of food items.
Meanwhile, farmer Governor Umaru Bago visited the Emi Guye community around the farm, where he interacted with the people.
He directed that some basic amenities such as water and solar energy be provided to the community and other adjourning communities.
The village Head of Emi Guye, Alh. Usman Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the people, appreciated the farmer Governor and commended him for his development strides in the state.
FARMER GOVERNOR UMARU BAGO DELIVERS N100 MILLION CHEQUE TO FUT MINNA
Niger State Governor, farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago has delivered a N100 million cheque to the Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology FUT, Minna as the state government contribution for the construction of hostel accommodation for Students.
Members of the Governing Council, led by the Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Muhammad Kudu Santuraki were at the Council Chamber of the Government House, Minna to receive the cheque.
The farmer Governor restated his commitment to partnering with the Institution for the benefit of the citizenry.
The Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Muhammad Kudu Santuraki, appreciated the farmer Governor for the kind gesture and assured him that the funds will be judiciously used.
Recall that farmer Governor Umaru Bago had on the fifth of this month announced the donation of N100 million to FUT Minna, to facilitate the construction of hostels for students.
FARMER GOVERNOR UMARU BAGO MEETS STAKEHOLDERS IN THE MINING SECTOR AS THE STATE GOVERNMENT GETS SET TO SEND AN EXECUTIVE BILL ON RESPONSIBLE MINING
Following the Niger State Government’s decision to send an Executive Bill to the State Assembly on “Responsible Mining” an interactive meeting of all relevant stakeholders in the mining sector has been held.
The meeting, which was presided over by farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, was held at the Council chamber of the Government House, Minna.
The farmer Governor explained that the meeting was to discuss issues surrounding mining in the State with the view to harmonising all actors in the mining sector to sanitize it.
In his address, farmer Governor Umaru Bago decried how illegal mining has led to loss of lives, environmental degradation, school drop-outs and insecurity.
He then stressed the need for all miners in the State to unite and form a formidable front, while the artisanal miners also form Cooperatives to have a database of all miners and artisanal miners in the State.
The farmer Governor explained that with a reliable database of miners in the State, the State government would provide full support to the mining association or cooperatives to ensure Responsible Mining where the lives of the miners and host communities are not endangered and basic social amenities provided.
He said the meeting would be a continuous one to ensure a strong collaboration between the State government and miners in the State to ensure a Responsible Mining.
The Caretaker Chairman, Miners Association of Nigeria, Niger State Chapter, Yusuf Shuaibu, the immediate past Chairman of the Association and member, Technical Committee for the review of Mining laws in Nigeria, Mohammed Ismaila Mambo, and Obed Yakwai Kango, among many other speakers, all appreciated the Farmer Governor for his initiative aimed at bringing together all the actors in the mining sector.
They highlighted the lack of compliance to stipulated guidelines, and the lack of supervision as the bane of the environmental degradation and other negative effect of mining to the host communities pointing out that the proposed “Responsible Mining” Bill when passed, would help in checkmating the challenges in the sector.
Recently, farmer Governor Umaru Bago said an Executive Bill tagged “Responsible Mining” will be sent to the State Assembly for passage to sanitise mining activities in the State as the bill when passed would spell out the procedures to follow in terms of mining, thereby getting rid of all forms of irregularities in the mining sector.
