By Suleiman Yakubu

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Niger State Chapter, said it will shut down the state if Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago does not desist from appointing politicians into offices in government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) that were meant for core civil servants.
The state NLC Chairman, Comrade Abdulkareem Idris Lafene, gave this warning in an interview shortly after meeting with the leadership of the 10th assembly at the Niger State House of Assembly, Complex, Minna, on Wednesday.
Comrade Lafene said that the appointment of politicians as Executive Directors of the MDAs was against the civil service rule, as such positions were for career civil servants.
"This issue of executive directors, you know, is not found in any part of the world; we have directors, but we don't have executive directors," he said.
The chairman added that they were in the state house of assembly, being an arm of government for them to call on the governor to stop these appointments.
"The state house of assembly should call on the executive to stop all these appointments; it is their duty, which is why you have three arms of government.
"We have written to the state government; there was no response. That is why we came to the house of assembly to present our paper. If there is no response, we will close down Niger State," he warned.
Earlier, while addressing the 10th state house of assembly members, the NLC chairman said that appointments of politicians as executive directors were illegal and irregular.
He impressed it on the House to, as a matter of urgency, call on the governor to stop the appointments so that labour and government would continue to enjoy their cordial industrial relationship.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Afiniki Eunice Dauda, assured the NLC that their complaint would get to the governor and believed that, as a former parliamentarian, he would listen to them.
The speaker added that all other issues surrounding some MDAs being investigated by the House, especially the Board of Internal Revenue, will all be forwarded to the governor.

By Suleiman Yakubu

The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has signed an executive order that will entrench the green economy as a focal point of the administration.
The Executive Order, which was to be cited as “The Niger State Green Economy Initiative Order (No. 3), 2023, orders that the Green Economy Initiative shall be driven by the state blueprint that details the strategic pillars and outlines the strategic key performance indicators, targets, and timelines of the transition into a green economy.
Also enshrined in the order, the government shall produce a well-coordinated state-wide land use and economic development plan to guide investment decisions and ensure investments that would stabilise the green transition.
The Order further directed all ministries, departments, and agencies of the state to adhere strictly to the initiative, adding that appropriate sanction will be carried out on any violator of the Executive Order.
Singing the Executive Order shortly before the commencement of the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) Meeting at the Council Chambers, Government House, Minna, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago explained that the Executive Order was to ensure effective implementation of the Green Economy Policy.
He appreciated the role the media played in giving the idea wide publicity and helping his administration in no small measure, and he encouraged them not to relent.
It would be recalled that the state government hosted the first ever green economy summit with the view of turning around the economy of the state and engendering socio-economic development.
With the signing of the Executive Order, the initiative has come to stay, and its implementation shall be carried out by all relevant organisations in the state.