Only Qualified People Will Be in My Cabinet, Says Niger Gov

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Niger State Governor, Alhaji Mohammad Umar Bago, has said he would appoint only competent and qualified people into his cabinet, even as he pledged to be fair to adherents of the two major religions and all ethnic groups in the state.

The governor has already appointed his Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Adviser on Print Media Affairs and the Chief Press Secretary among other personal staff.

Speaking through his Deputy, Comrade Yakubu Garba, at a thanksgiving service held at the St Michaels Catholic Cathedral, Minna, on Sunday, Bago emphasised the need for adherents of all religions in the state to live as one and also work for the peace and progress of the state.

“We will be fair and just to all persons in the state but please put us in prayers,” stressing also that, “We’ll appoint and engage only those who merit it. I can assure you this, our appointments will not be based on favoritism but on merit.”

Bago also assured the people that his government would revisit the call for the re-introduction of the study of Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) in schools across the state, because “it will affect the morals of our children positively.”

He therefore, urged Christians  to pray for the country’s  security agencies for them to succeed in the onerous task of securing Nigeria.

In his sermon, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, Most Reverend Dr. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, observed that the Nigerian society needed serious reforms, adding that, “Our children’s morals are in shambles and for us to tackle it is through the re-introduction of the CRK to schools.”