Politics
TRADITIONAL rulers under Bida, Lapai and Agaie emirates of Niger, on Wednesday pledged to support the formulation of the state government urban development policy.
Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya, Etsu Nupe and Chairman of Niger state Traditional Council, gave the pledged in Bida during a town hall meeting to sensitise communities for preparation of the state urban policy in eight local government areas.
Yahaya, who was represented by Alhaji Abubakar Alkali, Mayaki Nupe, said that the emirate would give the necessary support needed for the programme to succeed.
“Urban development is all about all of us, and it involves everyone and everybody’s participation, we will give the programme the opportunity to succeed,” he said.
In his address, Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger, said that the policy would enable the state and local governments to shift from over reliance on federal allocation to harness their economic potentials.
Bello, who was represented by Alhaji Baba Wachiko, Permanent Secretary, Economic Affairs, called for effective synergy between the two tiers of government and residents for the success of the programme.
“This is to enable Nigerlites to demonstrate ownership and contribute resources to pay their equitable share of the cost of service provision and to install in them proprietary pride in their communities,” he said.
In his remarks, Prof. Mustapha Zubairu, Coordinator, Niger State Urban Support Programme, explained that the effort was to enable government harness its natural resources to become self-reliant.
“Niger State has the large landmass of over 76,000 square kilometers with natural resources that are yet to be tapped especially in agriculture sector that if harnessed will make the state self- efficient,” Zubairu said
He noted that the policy would translate to reduced poverty among rural communities, create jobs for the youth and improve the state and local government internally generated revenue.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that UN Habibat is assisting the state to develop a policy that will guide urbanisation process and address future challenges of town planning with 900,000 dollars grant from South Korean government.
NAN
– Dec. 11, 2019 @ 19:15 GMT |
Tags: Traditional rulers pledge support for Niger urban policy
