By Suleiman Yakubu

The Niger State House of Assembly has urged the Executive Arm of Government to intervene in the security crises of Bassa, Allawa, and the environs of Shiroro local government.
This was the resolution reached following the matter of urgent public importance that was brought before the plenary of the State House of Assembly by the Minority Leader of the 10th Assembly, Hon. Andrew Doma, representing Shiroro Constituency.
Hon. Doma said that a few weeks ago, bandits in large numbers stormed Bassa, Allawa, and adjoining villages, where they brutally killed and maimed mostly children and women.
According to the member, as of the moment, some persons in the community cannot be accounted for as the bandits were said to have kidnapped a large number of people.
Therefore, he appealed to the Niger State Government to, as a matter of urgency, set up a security strategy to avoid future occurrences of such barbaric acts in that area, so much so that the bandits threatened to return.
He also said that to provide succour to the victims, there was a need for the government to provide the people with relief materials as their houses and food storages were razed down by these men of the underworld.
The 10th Assembly granted his prayers, and a minute of silence was observed for those who lost their lives during the attack.

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As businesses continued to crumble coupled with the heat waves during this Ramadan period, the Niger State House of Assembly has summoned the Regional Manager of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to appear before it to explain why there is an epileptic power supply in the state.
This was the resolution at the plenary following the motion calling on the AEDC to appear before the 10th legislature as presented by Hon. Mohammed Alhaji Haruna, representing Bida II Constituency.
Hon. Haruna lamented that the AEDC was exploiting Nigerlites by not supplying the populace with adequate electricity commensurate with what the consumers were paying.
During the heated debate in the plenary on the motion, the House unanimously agreed that the regional manager should be served with an invitation letter immediately and expected the manager to appear on Tuesday next week.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji, urged the clerk to invite all relevant stakeholders to be part of the meeting.
Meanwhile, the State House of Assembly has passed a motion calling on the executive arm of the government to commence the implementation of the 2022 harmonisation retirement age for teachers in the state.
The motion brought forward by Hon. Muhammad Sani Idris (Tafa Constituency) and seconded by Hon. Murtala Badaru (Suleja) said that this was to benefit the education sector in the state.
Hon. Idris said that former President Muhammadu Buhari had signed into law a new retirement age for teachers in public schools to retire after attaining 65 years and 40 years of service.
According to him, 15 states had already enacted the laws in the state, with Niger State not among them, saying that the state needs to be part of the development.
He named some of the states that have enacted the law, including Kogi, Benue, Borno, Kano, and Kebbi states, among others.
He added that the categories of teachers were both in primary and post-primary schools.
The legislator added that as time goes on, they will look into the qualifications of the teachers to ascertain those who are qualified to benefit from the teacher's salary scale (TSS), noting that removing unqualified teachers will take a gradual process.
He said that implementing the 2022 harmonised retirement age for teachers will also serve as motivation for the teachers, and it will improve the standard of education in the state. Also in the plenary, the bill for a law to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Commission law, 2010, and for other connected purposes has passed a second reading and has been referred to the committees of the House on Finance, Judiciary, and Local Government. They have been given two weeks to complete their assignment and report back.