Angry Reaction as Governor, Deputy Governor House Speaker, Commissioners travel for Hajj
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, alongside his Deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, have reportedly embarked on the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The decision to travel have ignited fury among state residents who accused the the governor of neglecting governance responsibilities, leaving them vulnerable amid severe security challenges.
Opposition parties in the state voiced discontent, citing the absence of key officials as paralysing government operations.
Alhaji Umar Danladi Abdulhamid of the Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) condemned the move saying,“I am shocked at the way and manner Governor Mohammed Umar Bago administration has been operating without respect to the feelings of the citizens in spite of the current security problems facing the state.
“More shocking is abandoning the state without transmitting power in line with the Constitution. It is not a good omen for the state. This calls for caution and reversal.”
In the same vein, the Niger North Zonal Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Yahaya Ability, said: “Most unfortunate is that Governor Bago left the country to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia without remorse. He left the state the very day two military personnel were shot by the bandits at Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area while four LGAs, Rafi Shiroro, Munya and Mariga, were under attack daily and scores being killed.
“The matter is worse because the Assembly Speaker Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji who supposed to receive a written letter of transmission of power also left together with the governor. This goes to show that the Assembly is a stooge and under the pocket of the governor.
“Section 190 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended cannot be observed in breach as it makes clear provision for absence of a governor without anticipation of both of them leaving their seats at the same time.”
He told the people of the state to vote out the ruling APC in 2027 for better governance.
Abdulmalik also wanted the governor, deputy governor, and other officials to come back to the state to make sure things are safe and in line with the Constitution.
However, the opposition parties’ concerns weren’t answered by the state government.
Right now, it seems like the state is being run by the Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Abdullah Usman Gbatamagi.
However, someone in the government, who pleaded anonymity, mentioned that the governor could control the state from anywhere in the world using technology.
