- Insists, Governor not afraid of contest in 2027
From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State Government has dismissed the insinuations that the order by the Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago for the closure of the Minna based private FM Radio Station was politically motivated, insisting that some contents in its broadcast amount to incitement.
The special adviser to the governor on communication media and strategy Hon Jonathan Vatsa in a statement in Minna on Wednesday while debunking the insinuations, said the governor cannot disend so low to the level of attacking a radio station because an opposition figure eared his view.
Recalled that the governor on Friday last week during the APC stakeholders meeting at the government house directed that the radio station be closed down and it’s license withdrawn, accusing it of inciting the public against the government.
This has however generated wild reactions from critical stakeholders in the media industry, questioning the governor’s constitutional power to order the closure of the station.
But Vatsa in the statement, specifically referred to a comment by the general manager of the station, Aisha Badeggi that the governor was not comfortable with the interview granted to the station by the former Chairman of the federal inland revenue service, Mallam Nani on the performance of the government in tbe last two years in office.
Aisha, while speaking on Channel Television programme, “morning brief” challenged the governor to come up with any verifiable evidence of public incitement against the government or unethical behavior by the station.
“Maybe the governor is not comfortable with the interview granted to the station by former Chairman of the federal inland revenue service because there is the rumor that his eying the Governor’s seat in 2027”, she said.
However Vatsa dismissed the insinuation as baseless, saying that the governor is not afraid of a contest in 2027 as his achievements will speak for him at the polls.
He pointed out that the recent endorsement of the governor and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the All Progressive Congress (APC) stakeholders in the state is clear indication that there is no vacancy in the government in 2027.
According to him, the ongoing aggressive transformation of the infrastructures across the state, the first of it’s kind since the creation of the state is enough to earn the governor second term in office.
“The governor is not panicking about his re-election in 2027 because he has achieved what no governor is the history of the state has achieved. His work will speak for him at the polls.
“He is the people’s governor, he has never lost an election since 2007 when he contested first political office into the House of Representatives where he served for three consecutive terms in office”.
While claiming that the pronouncement by the governor was over exaggerated, he pointed out that the governor is media friendly and that has earned him the recognition and awards of excellent performance by three different media organizations in the country in the last two years.
He added that the government is open to constructive criticism, adding “constructive criticism will enable us as government to know where there are gaps. The governor is not a magician, he is a human being”, Vatsa added
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