Over 50 Villages Vacated Due to Bandits’ Attacks in Niger – Gov Bello

Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello has said that over 50 villages in five local government areas of the state have been forced to flee their homes due to attack by bandits.

This was contained in his opening remarks at a two-day training workshop for local government directors and revenue officers on Monday themed “Strategies for Enhancing Internally Generated Revenue of Local Governments in Niger State.”

It was organised by the state Local Government Service Commission to explore ways of generating more revenue to tackle development challenges including security and refugee problems.

He said, “Presently, we have over 3,000 internally displaced persons camping in Minna, aside from the ones we have in local government areas. Where do we get the resources to take care of them?

“It is time we cut down on our expenditure, come together to see how we can address issues of ghost workers and those looting the state of its resources,” he said.

He warned that the government would not hesitate to do away with those who were not adding value to the system. Bello noted that the workshop was coming at a time when nations and the country were witnessing a drastic fall in revenue earnings because of the COVID-19 and insecurity.

According to him, the present revenue being generated cannot sustain the state’s developmental aspirations.

He therefore said the government must work within the law to augment the dwindling revenue collection to finance its activities. Bello stressed that the state would no longer continue to borrow, just to survive.

This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

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