The Niger South Senior Stakeholders have condemned remarks by the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Sani Musa, on the proposed construction of Baro-Katcha-Agaie road.
Sen. Musa had, on the floor of the Senate, opposed the construction of Baro-Katcha-Agaie road, which leads to the Baro port, saying “there is nobody on that road”.
Musa, who is the Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance, also claimed that “all the proposed federal projects for Niger State in 2025 appropriation are concentrated in one place and it is not fair”.
Reacting to his comment, in a statement on Tuesday, the Santurakin Nupe, Dr. Mohammed Santuraki, said while it was true that not much progress has been made on the Baro port project, but for the Senator to gleefully assert that “there is nothing at Baro Port” was “unbecoming of a Senator, representing people in Niger State, even if not the people of the subject area.”
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Santuraki, explained that what Musa failed to understand was that an appropriate network of road linkages are necessary for an inland port to be viable.
He said: “We expect that the Senator will use his good offices as the Chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee to influence the allocation of additional resources to the areas of his interest in the state, instead of lamenting on the Senate floor, about the resources allocated to projects in other parts of his state.
“We wish to add that this is not the first time the Senator is employing this type of tactic.
“During the last National Assembly, one of our members representing Zone A initiated a bill for the establishment of a new federal university in Niger South Senatorial District.
“He diluted this effort by proposing another bill for a university to also be established in Suleja in same state!
“This trend is rather unhealthy. Nigerlites expect our elected representatives to not only serve the interests of their micro constituencies, but also, individually and collectively, pursue the overall interest of Niger State.
This is especially necessary and important if such politicians have statewide leadership ambitions.”