Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State has advocated for state governors to serve only one term in office in order to promote excellent governance.
Bago, who served two years in his first term in office, did not recommend the length of the single term or the effective year for the takeoff.
Bago, who was speaking at the swearing-in of newly appointed commissioners, new local government council chairmen and their deputies, as well as some permanent secretaries and members of some boards and agencies, stated that seeking a second term in office is a barrier to making decisive decisions that will move the state forward.
“There are some steps I ought to have taken to move the state forward, but I dare not because of fear that taking such decisions would affect my victory in 2027. For example, some people who failed examinations and should have been sanctioned one way or the other could not be punished because of second-term ambition.
“I am an advocate of a single term for governors. Everything in Niger State is being politicized, and because of this, more decisive actions cannot be taken.
“There are some people I want to sack, but I cannot. As the governor, I am preoccupied with the search for a second term in office, and as a result, governance is suffering, and this is why one term is better to serve because you will be more focused from the beginning to the end of your one-term tenure,” he remarked.
Speaking about the kidnapped children, pupils, and instructors of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary/Secondary School Papiri in Agwara local government, the governor termed the incident as unusual for the state and urged everyone to unite against evil.
“In the past, the forests across the state were safe for members of the Boy Scouts to go for expeditions, but that is not the case now. The forests are now being used as hideouts by bandits, and that is why kidnapping and abduction are strange to us in Niger. “I urge you all to rise to the challenge at hand and pray for the rescue of the remaining abducted Papiri school children and their teachers and for peace to return to all parts of the state,” he remarked.
The Niger governor called on those newly sworn in to key into his new Niger agenda towards moving the state forward in all spheres of life.
“There should be no room for discrimination against anyone on account of his area of origin, religion, and parental background. We should have a new Niger where the son of a nobody will become somebody, and this is the time to retrace our steps to build a new Niger state,” he declared.
