Niger State governor Mohammed Umar Bago has linked the persistent insecurity in the state to the ongoing struggle by unauthorised individuals to gain control over its abundant mineral resources.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Bago expressed his administration’s commitment to utilising these valuable deposits in the best interest of the people and ensuring peace and security throughout the state.
He also emphasised the importance of reviving the agricultural sector, which serves as the mainstay of the state.
Bago highlighted the establishment of a cooperative relationship with relevant agencies to restore peace and security in all parts of the state.
He further revealed plans to leverage the mineral resources through the state’s Ministry of Mining, reducing dependence on federal allocations.
The governor’s aim is to collaborate with mining companies and the State Mining Corporation to harness the state’s mining potential, emphasizing that significant progress will be made within the next year.
Governor Bago acknowledged the presence of ungoverned spaces within Niger State and emphasized the importance of agriculture, particularly irrigation farming, in these areas.
By leveraging the state’s abundant water bodies, his administration intends to cultivate and utilize the ungoverned land effectively.
The governor affirmed his collaboration with President Tinubu to tap into Niger State’s agricultural potential.
He said, “We are endowed as a state with a lot of mineral deposits and is not only related to the insecurity issues, most of the places where you see these banditry are places where you have lithium or gold. So a lot of these activities are kind of associated with why banditry is springing up.
“However, yes, we will harness our mineral potential, we don’t intend to come to Abuja every month to collect FAAC or JACK or whatever you call it. As a state we have to put all the things in order so that we can harness these potentials.
“Now the state also has an SPV. The State Mining Corporation, where we’re hoping to have an MOU or synergy with other mining companies so that we can harness that potential and I assure you the next one year we will come out tops.
“If you’ll agree with me Niger State has a lot of ungoverned spaces and we are agrarian and in our strength is agriculture. So, we intend to cultivate most of your ungoverned land.
“We have a lot of water across the state, we want to encourage our irrigation farming and that is why we are collaborating with Mr. President, to ensuring that the agric potential of Niger State is tapped very well.
“So, we will harness them. However, in the interim, we were working with security agencies in making sure that we curb this menace and by the grace of God we will come out tops”, he said.
Responding to a question about women’s inclusion in government, Governor Bago disclosed that he had issued an executive order mandating the appointment of female secretaries to local government councils.
Furthermore, he pledged to appoint a female candidate for the next vacant position, indicating a commitment to surpassing the 35 percent affirmative action target and striving for gender parity.
Regarding the issue of out-of-school children, Governor Bago attributed the problem to the prevailing insecurity.
He outlined plans to leverage technology and virtual platforms, thanks to the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure access to education.
The governor intends to deploy educational facilities to the most affected areas, enabling the enrollment of out-of-school children.
He expressed optimism about curbing the security challenges in Niger State and affirmed his determination to harness the state’s mineral and agricultural resources for the benefit of its people.
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