By Suleiman Yakubu

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The Niger State House of Assembly has called on the state government to end its business with the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), as it has failed to serve the people of the state, in spite of the three hydropower stations in Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, and the fourth one in sight in Zungeru.
The state assembly, during its plenary on Tuesday, called on Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to commence negotiations with an alternative electricity distribution company, as it was evident that the AEDC has failed to give electricity to the people, throwing them into untold hardship over the years.
Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, said he was totally displeased over the epileptic electricity supply in the state, in which the state contributes about 60 percent of electricity to the national grid and therefore cannot be seen not to benefit from a steady power supply.
"There is no justification whatsoever for the state not to enjoy a minimum of 18 hours of electricity supply in a day.
"The people of Niger State have been pushed to the wall, and we will no longer tolerate the continued blackout of the state by the distribution company," he said.
He further stated that instead of the citizens benefiting from the AEDC, the reverse was the case, as it was the state government, politicians, and people who purchased equipment and transformers for their communities.
The Speaker urged the state government to try another company to see if the desired result would be achieved.
Other speakers during the plenary said that the metering process was even faulty, as consumers were not billed for what they consumed.
The AEDC management, led by the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr. Okwuokenye Chijioke, said that the poor power supply to the state was due to the N3 billion debts owed the company as it uses money to purchase energy for distribution.
"The consumers in the state owe AEDC well over N3b, which is huge. AEDC is a private company and buys the energy from the transmission company to sell to the public; due to a lack of payment, the company was losing enormous energy,"he said.
Making further efforts to explain to the house why the poor power supply has been continued by the COO, the legislators, unsatisfied with his explanation, maintained their ground to switch to another distribution company as demanded by the people of their various constituencies.

By Suleiman Yakubu

The Niger State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, has assured members of the Niger State House of Assembly of a continuous, robust relationship between the state executive and the legislative arm of government.
The governor gave the assurance through his deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba, while reacting to the vote of confidence passed on him by members of the state assembly at the assembly complex in Minna Tuesday.
He observed that people often want to see the legislators fighting the executive, and where such did not happen, the legislators were tagged rubber stamp legislators, urging them not to feel discouraged by such labelling.
The governor added that while passing the vote of confidence, the legislators had done justice to virtually all the sectors, ranging from infrastructural development, agriculture, health, education, youth, and women's empowerment, among others.
He further stated that to whom much is given, much is expected, and as such, they will require the continued support of the state assembly and the judiciary to succeed in their efforts to give Nigerlites a new Niger.
"This vote of confidence is a call for us, the executive side of the government, to do more, and we will not take it for granted. We will not abuse this confidence passed on to us; we will do everything possible to ensure that we add value to governance beyond the expectations of Nigerlites," said the farmer governor.
The governor equally said the present administration under his leadership has done a lot in the area of security, though they don't talk much about it, assuring that they will continue to do their best in that area.
He also appreciated the speaker and members of the state assembly for the recognition, saying it was the first in this dispensation for a state house of assembly to pass a vote of confidence on the executive and appeal for a continuous healthy relationship between the executive and the other members of government.
The member representing Tafa constituency in the state assembly, Hon. Mohammad Sani Idris, who moved the motion for the vote of confidence on the governor, said he was one of those who were doubting the governor when he declared the New Niger Agenda, but that he was now convinced about the realisation of the New Niger Agenda as the governor was working his talk.