Bago advocates Niger electrification to boost jobs

Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago has canvassed the support of the citizenry in the state for the electrification of the 25 local government areas of the state to enhance the well-being of the people.

Speaking while commissioning the electrification project initiated by the member representing Borgu/Agwara Federal Constituency, Niger State, Jafar Muhammad Ali, he noted that the project will no doubt change the economic fortunes of the people of the state.

The governor remarked that such a project would encourage modern agricultural revolution and promote the potential of Babanna International Border Market to an enviable pedestal among its equals.

Governor Bago stated that Ali’s development vision aligned with that of his administration’s ‘New Niger’ and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which can easily be achieved through a robust and uninterrupted power supply.

Governor Bago lauded the lawmaker for solving the electricity challenges the area had been hitherto facing by connecting both Agwara and Babanna areas with a 33KVA line.

He noted that the project will, among other things, boost commercial activities through employment generation, reduction in crime and youth restiveness, as well as growth in the economy of the state.

The project included the linking of Lumma-Babanna, two strategic towns in the area, and communities under them to the national grid.
The benefiting communities include Lumma, Lambu, Kuble, Yaboi, Audu Fari, Bakwa Dukawa, Dabiri, Garuji, and Babanna, respectively.

The lawmaker also facilitated the connection of the Agwara Local Government Area of the state to the national grid in February 2024.

Benefiting communities on the Agwara side include Lumma, Swashi, Guffanti, Kwana, Kwan, Papiri, Gallah, Tashan Fulani, Agwara, Busuru, and Rofia.

In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari, through the then Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in conjunction with the Niger State Government, moved to establish a trans-border market in the town.

However, the deplorable condition of the road from Lumma to Babanna and the lack of electricity in the area stalled what many said was a laudable and economically viable project.

Mr Bilyaminu Idris Danburam, the legislative aide to the lawmaker, said his principal has been influencing projects that have direct bearings on the people of the area, adding that more development initiatives are on the way.