PROOF THAT OUR GOVERNOR-ELECT MEANS BUSINESS;
By Hamza Waziri.
The Niger State Governor-elect, Dr. Mohammed Umaru Bago is certainly going in the right direction considering the three critical steps he has taken so far since receiving his Certificate of Return from the INEC.
He did not take these steps subconsciously but rather deliberately as he has promised during his rigorous campaigns and sundry meetings with various stakeholders in the state, positions he has reiterated in his acceptance speech during the occasion of the presentation of Certificates of Return to the winners of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
The first step the Governor-elect took was to engage the media immediately after receiving his certificate at the Government House, thus fulfilling the promise he made on several occasions to carry them along. The journalists in the room were no less than 53, asking one thought-provoking question after another, in English, Hausa, and Nupe languages.
Some of the questions asked by the media men included what Bago intended to accomplish in 100 days as the governor of the state and he swiftly rebuffed the 100 days syndrome, declaring that he won’t limit his administration’s performance to 100 days. ” We are talking about Niger State here, the economic growth and development of the state, so why should we limit it to 100 days?”, he queried.
On security, he said he would not expose his security architecture in the media, but he hinted that kinetic and non-kinetic approaches would be applied to gain long-lasting peace.
On the issue of abandoned projects and moribund state institutions, he declared that as someone who believes in the continuity of good governance, he would assess these incomplete projects and these neglected institutions, evaluate their viability and take decisive action.
To demonstrate that he meant business, Bago took his second decisive step by embarking on a tour of the Shiroro hotel which has been comatose for decades and the abandoned five-star hotel project, both in Minna, the state capital, for on-the-spot assessments.
The third step the governor-elect took was a visit to his major challenger in the polls, Hon. Alh Isah Liman Kantigi, of PDP candidate. The visit was meant to appreciate the first runner-up for exhibiting a spirit of sportsmanship by conceding defeat and congratulating the winner, a move which analysts say further consolidated the peace and harmony enjoyed in the state.
Ace political pundits said Bago’s visit to Kantigi has demonstrated his promise to run an all-inclusive government and that his call on Nigerlites to eschew their religious, ethnic, regional, and political disparities and join hands with him to build a ” New Niger” of our dreams, may not just be one those rhetorics favoured by politicians after all.
Avid political watchers have concluded that if Bago continues on these admirable notes, then Niger State is poised to join the league of developed economies not only in Nigeria but the world.
May the Almighty Allah make it easy for our Governor-elect.
