Tag: Gov. Bago

Niger: “You can’t impose religion on us!” – Christians reject Gov. Bago’s Hisbah Commission

Aminu Imam
Niger Xtians reject Hisbah

Christian groups in Niger State have openly rejected plans by the state government to set up a Hisbah Commission, warning that the move threatens Nigeria’s secular foundation, and could worsen the state’s fragile economy. The opposition is coming from a coalition known as the ‘Niger State Concerned Christian Advocates”, which met in Minna to review the legislative Bill currently before the State House of Assembly. The group said the proposed Commission goes against the spirit of religious freedom and peaceful co-existence in the state. Speaking through a communiqué issued after…

Read More

Gov. Bago receives 130 rescued Papiri students, teachers

Aminu Imam
Bago receives rescued students

…Says their ordeal painful, heartbreaking Niger state governor, Umaru Bago yesterday expressed excitement over rescue of 130 rescued pupils and teachers abducted some weeks ago from St. Mary’s Catholic Private Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Niger State. While expressing appreciation to God for the successful rescue of the abducted pupils and teachers, Bago, nevertheless described their ordeal as painful and heartbreaking. “Looking at these children and the torment they went through is unbearable, and we are grateful to God, Mr. President, the NSA and all the security agencies for…

Read More

Bago backs single-term tenure for Governors

Aminu Imam
Bago backs single term

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, of Niger state, has supported a single-term in office for state governors, for good governance. The Governor, who has spent two years in his first term in office, did not however recommend the duration of the single-term, or the effective year for the take-off. Bago, who was speaking at the swearing-in of newly appointed Commissioners and new local government council chairmen and their deputies, as well as some permanent secretaries and members of some Boards and Agencies, observed that looking for a second-term in office is…

Read More

Insecurity: “Defend yourselves”, Gov. Bago charges Niger residents

Aminu Imam
Bago to Niger residents

Niger State governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, has urged residents to take up arms and defend themselves against the increasing wave of bandit attacks across the state. The governor emphasised that his administration will not negotiate with kidnappers or pay ransom for victims, warning that such actions only encourage further criminal activities. During a visit to the communities of Rijau and Magama in Kontagora, recently affected by bandit attacks, Bago stressed the urgency of self-defense measures. He stated: “The state has reached a point where the people must stand up and…

Read More

2027: Northerners have right to contest against Tinubu” – ACF tells Gov. Bago

Aminu Imam
ACF tells Gov. Bago

The Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), has countered a call by Governor Umaru Bago, of Niger state, to allow a Southerner, President Bola Tinubu, to complete an eight-year tenure before any individual from the North could contest. Recall that Governor Bago had, during an interview on a television programme at the weekend, asked Northern politicians willing to be Nigeria’s president to wait until 2031, in respect to the zoning formula. According to him, the call for Northern candidates in 2027 is too hasty and unfair to the Southern region. Reacting, the…

Read More

CAN reacts, as Niger Gov. introduces licence for preachers 

Aminu Imam
CAN reacts Niger

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, said it will not take legal action against the state government over the introduction of a licence for preaching. The state’s Bureau for Religious Affairs had recently introduced a ‘Da’awah Registration Form and Certification Process’ for preachers, sparking reports that the state government had banned religious preaching. However, CAN’s spokesman, Daniel Atori, said, in a statement on Sunday, that the directive did not affect Christian clerics, and therefore would not warrant a lawsuit. “The Christian Association of Nigeria, Niger state chapter,…

Read More

Niger State to end direct supply of live cows

Aminu Imam
Niger State on cattle

…Launch meat processing for southern markets Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has unveiled a major reform in Niger State’s livestock trade, announcing plans to halt the direct transportation of live cows and goats to markets in Lagos and Ogun states. Under the new plan, livestock will be slaughtered and processed at Mokwa before being packaged and delivered as frozen products to the Southwest. According to the governor, this will improve hygiene, reduce waste, and ensure farmers capture more value from the livestock chain. Speaking at the First Bank 2025…

Read More

SERAP, Editors sue Niger Gov., NBC over Badeggi FM threats

Aminu Imam
SERAP NGE

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the Governor of Niger State, Umaru Bago, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), seeking to halt the alleged intimidation of BadeggiFM Radio, Minna. The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos on behalf of SERAP and NGE by their lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Andrew Nwankwo, follows recent remarks by Governor Bago in which he threatened to revoke the station’s licence, seal its premises, demolish its building, and…

Read More

Niger: “I won’t negotiate with bandits” – Gov. Bago

Aminu Imam
Gov. Bago on bandits

Niger State governor, Muhammad Umaru Bago, has vowed not to negotiate with bandits, stressing that it is unacceptable and that he will instead seek the intervention of the President and the National Security Adviser (NSA) on the issue of frequent banditry attacks plaguing some local councils in the state. Bago had also observed that negotiations with bandits in some states have led to an increase in cattle-rustling. The governor made his position known at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting on the implementation of the ‘State Trade Animal Movement Security and Veterinary…

Read More

IBAN slams Niger State governor over “military-style” shutdown of Baddegi FM

Aminu Imam
Niger State gov. Bago

…Threatens nationwide boycott Aminu Imam The Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, (IBAN), has issued a scathing condemnation of Niger State governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, following the reported shutdown of Baddegi FM, a privately owned radio station, in what it describes as an “unlawful and undemocratic” action executed by force. In a press statement released on Sunday, IBAN decried the governor’s alleged use of military personnel to seal off the licensed station without recourse to legal or regulatory procedures. The association called the move “high-handed,” warning that it amounts to a…

Read More