The newly sworn in governor of Niger State, Hon Umar Mohammed Bago has said that his administration is not going to be business as usual. He therefore promised to tackle perennial insecurity and other challenges confronting the state.
After the oath administered on him and his deputy Comrade Yakubu Garba, by the chief judge of the state Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdumalik, the tough talking Bago promised to protect and work for the mandate of the people.
“While we appreciate the fact that ours is a state with abundant resources, we must act differently to maximize our potential. In other words, it cannot be business as usual, rather it should be business unusual for the greater good of all. Our goal is simple and clear, to serve the people of Niger State with fear of God,” he said.
The governor who spoke amid cheers said the people and all stakeholders must come out from their comfort zone to ensure that they work for the transformation of the state.
He added, “We assure you that transparency, accountability and fiscal discipline shall be our watchwords because we know the importance. We understand the expectations of the people from the start but we have no doubt in our capacity to deliver, we have chosen to do things differently, Insha Allah. We must be prepared to leave our comfort zones, if things must get better.”
Bago in his address at the inauguration that had the outgoing Governor Abubakar Sani Bello represented by the outgoing deputy governor Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, listed priority areas to include security, education, science and technology, commerce, health among others.
LEADERSHIP however observed that former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar was not in attendance while the representative of former military president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida was not announced, unlike in the previous governorship inaugurations that they were present.
It was also observed that while the immediate past governor Abubakar Sani Bello was not in attendance, former governor of the state Muazu Babangida Aliyu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in attendance.
