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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has said that his administration is committed to harnessing the abundant natural resources the state is endowed with, as well as tackling insecurity head on.
Bago, who noted that the government is taking steps to reposition the Niger state economically, beginning with the “Green Economy”, scheduled to hold in Minna, this week, promised that potentials of the state will be harnessed fully for the benefit of the people.
The governor stated this, on Sunday night, in Minna, at a dinner organised by the Niger State Government for the House of Representatives Press Corps, to mark the end of corps 2023 annual retreat, which held at the Niger State capital.
Bago, while stating that insecurity will not stop the state’s developmental initiatives, said the government has developed strategies to ensure Niger is secured. He explained that as part of its development initiative, his administration has awarded contracts for construction og about 566km of the roads.
“Niger State is the largest in terms of land mass in Nigeria, with about 76, 300 square kilometres of arable land. Niger State also has four Hydropower dams. That is Kianji, Jeba, Shiroro and Zungeru. We have the only white sand beach in West Africa, the Shagunu Beach.
“There is also Zuma rock and a lot more that people don’t know. I have come here today to tell you that with this partnership we are establishing, we need to spread the gospel. Lets people understand where we stand. What people understand about Niger state is the issue of insecurity and insurgency.
“Yes, we cannot shy away from insecurity, it is a reality; but what percentage of our land is in that mess? Very insignificant. You cannot underscore the fact that lives are being lost; but we are saying that we are working assiduously to make sure that everybody lives well in Niger state and in Nigeria at large, ” the governor stated.
He added: “We are holding the first of its kind Green Economy Summit because we have seen the comparative advantage we have in this state. So much money is out there and the only way we can access carbon credits is when we first aggregate our forests, and trade them in exchange for the emission by multi national companies.
“Niger State has the largest congregation of shea trees in the world. It is an endowment by God. These things nobody knows about are there but our women are in the farms, cutting them down to make firewoods. We, however need them to understand that we must protect our forest from deforestation and also promote afforestation”.
Bago explained that as part of efforts to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, the Niger State government has procured 200 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, so as to ease the burden of transportation on the people.
According to him, “We are very ambitious as a government. We have already purchased about 200 CNG buses to commute for free students going to school and subsidised for civil servants in Niger State. 100 of the buses will commute Abuja and Suleja daily, while 50 will be in Minna and others will be spread between Kontangora and Bida. “
