By Mohammed Baba Busu
Following the stakeholders meeting held in Minna with the Minister of Works and the delegation to the Federal Ministry of Works led by the Governor, an appeal has gone to the Federal Government to intervene in the deplorable federal roads across the state.
This is sequel to the fact that the obnoxious situation has become a burden on the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Media and Strategy, Abdulbaqy Usman Ebbo, made the called in an exclusive interview in Minna,.
He said that Gov. Umar Mohammed Bago cannot get all the projects done alone, coupled with several projects ongoing in the state.
Usman Ebbo cited Federal Government roads within the state like the Suleja-Minna road awarded fourteen years ago, the Kontogora-Rijau road awarded over ten years and the Baro road project, among others, all yet to be completed despite previous assurances.
He decried the shortage of resources to fix these roads while the state government is struggling to fix health and education.
According to him, the state government is also embarking on massive agricultural revolution.
Usman Ebbo then charged the Federal Government to prioritize Niger State as a strategic state in the country.
Abdulbaqy Usman Ebbo revealed that the situation is more worrisome as Niger State is the centre of Nigeria, pointing out that the economy of the country will collapse if Niger State roads were to be closed.
He stated that this necessitated the call for more federal presence in the state to ameliorate the plight of the people.
The Special Adviser further expressed sadness over enormous opportunities in the state that are not being utilized and urged the Federal Government to bring in resources to support Gov Mohammed Umar Bago even as he is already taking the lead in agriculture in the country.
He called on the state and national assembly members to do more to draw the attention of the Federal Government and make Niger State a priority, as Gov. Umar Bago has prepared the ground to facilitate success of the myriad of Federal Government’s policies and programmes.
