The former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has advised Niger State Governor -elect Umar Mohammed Bago to select people with good character for his team as commissioners and other appointees who will advise him rightly in a polite manner no matter the situation if truly, he wants to succeed.
Kwankwaso who was the chairman of the inauguration programme in honour of the governor-elect, gave the advice at the Inauguration lecture with theme, Addressing the challenges of socio-economic development at sub national level in Nigeria. The event was held in Minna.
Rabiyu who advised the governor- elect to hit the ground running immediately after his swearing- in for the socio-economic development if he must be a performing governor, revealed that lack of competence and knowledge has made some elected governors who claimed to know all to fail and end up with nothing to show in their states after four or eight years of governance.
He told the governor- elect to shun stealing and syphoning of public funds but should embark on empowering the people. Kwankwaso also adviced him to invest heavily in education and security for the betterment of Niger State or he would regret his future.
The former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Mohammed Jega stated that good governance is supposed to be driven by selfless and visionary leaders to address the needs and aspirations of the populace.
He said Nigeria does not only need good governance but good democratic governance which is indispensable phenomenon in our society. He expressed worry that money has been used to undermine the Nigerian electoral process.
Professor Attahiru Jega who said bad governance is responsible for the present economic woes in the country, called for the need for public office holders to be transparent and accountable at all times.
In his remarks, the Niger State Governor- elect, Umar Mohammed Bago, pledged to surpass the expectations of the people by raising the bar in governance. He assured them that he will operate an open door policy for a renewed Niger State.
Bago stated that the lecture has provided inputs and a foundation for renewed hope for the state, hence called for advice, counselling for a successful administration.
The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello called for transparency and accountability to gain the confidence of the people, this includes getting a formidable team for good governance.
He lamented over lack of capacity on the part of MDAs who are supposed to implement his policy and programmes to succeed as required, hence the need for the incoming government to ensure the building of the civil servants and political appointees to be on the same page.
