Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has said the broad and multi-level stakeholders town hall meeting organised by the government has resolved that the state and its people will not participate in any purported ten-day nationwide protest billed to begin next month.
Governor Bago, while speaking to newsmen on Thursday at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna, the venue of the town hall meeting, explained that the government has taken drastic measures to address the concerns of the people and has extracted commitments from youths and students that protests will not happen in the state.
He disclosed that the state government, in its efforts to cushion the effects of rising food costs and hunger, will release 50,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains to be sold at half the current market price in all 25 local government areas of the state.
He said committees would be set up in that regard, and he sought the cooperation of journalists and other stakeholders to monitor the exercise. He revealed further that the government has improved school feeding, will settle school fees, and will increase scholarships for all students in the state.
Governor Umaru Bago then announced a wage bonus of N20,000 for workers in both state and local government services, saying workers are to buy and pay the subsidised grains in three months. He said the grains were produced in the state during the dry season of farming and called on the people to key into his agricultural revolution to fight poverty.
He said a more rewarding programme would be organised to engage the youth rather than participate in the planned protest.
Representatives of other critical stakeholders, including security agencies, religious leaders, traditional rulers, organised labour, youths, civil society organisations, and inter-tribal organizations, among others, agreed in their separate submissions that protest is not the way to go and hence they will not participate in it.
They all commended the efforts of the governor aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the people and urged him to continue to do more, even as they assured him of their support for the success of his administration.
The Executive Chairman of the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), Muhammad Baba Ibrahim, said that with the agricultural partnership between the board and Niger Foods Ltd., a new chapter in the lives of teachers in the state has been opened.
The chairman disclosed this during an interview with journalists shortly after the signing of a tripartite agreement between the board, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, and Niger Foods Ltd. on the engagement of teachers in farming and other agricultural support services.
He revealed that there were about 25,000 teachers across the state, including about 3,000 administrators, and most of them have already indicated interest in the initiative.
The NSUBEB boss said the initiative will increase food production, add value to teachers, and reduce the cost of feeding students.
He said each interested teacher will be allocated four hectares of land, and about 120,000 hectares of farmland will be cultivated for massive food production. He said the initiative will change the lives of teachers and shoot them up to the middle class.
Chairman of Niger Foods, Mr. Sammy Adigun, signed on behalf of the state government, while Executive Chairman of NSUBEB, Muhammad Baba Ibrahim, signed on behalf of the board, and Chairman of NUT Niger State Chapter, Adamu Akayago, signed on behalf of the union.
The agreement will see Niger Foods supply farm inputs and other implements to interested teachers who will engage in crop production.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said the era of poverty is gone and commended the teachers for going into partnership and assured them of continuous support while calling on other groups and associations to key into his agricultural revolution.
He said the initiative will also foster prosperity among stakeholders in the education sector, adding that houses and health centres will be built for the teachers, which will also bring fortune to the younger generation.
Chairman of Niger Foods, Mr. Sammy Adigun, said varieties of farm inputs and implements will be provided to the benefiting teachers, with each farmer given packs of sprayer, herbicide, and insecticide.
The governor also inspected the Niger Foods Tractors' assembly plant, where he expressed satisfaction with what he saw on the ground, adding that similar assembly plants will be established in all 25 local government areas of the state.
He was also at one of the Niger Foods warehouses, where he said investment in agriculture was already yielding positive results.
