InaugAddress

The Speech

Your Excellencies

The Good People of Niger State

Members of the National and State Assemblies here present

Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Invited Guests

Members of the Press

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I t is my greatest pleasure, honour and privilege to stand here before you today, Tuesday, 29^th of May 2007, having taken the Oath of Office as the Governor of our great State, the NIGER STATE. Today is therefore a very historic day in the history of not only our State, but also the whole nation. As it is the first time in our collective history, power is being transferred from one civilian administration to another. The recent political development and history of our State is indeed very humbling and a testimony to the Will of Allah (SWT). The divine intervention in our political and electoral process has increased our fear and our faith in Allah (SWT). Those who don’t know can now know and believe that Allah (SWT) is the best PLANNER and EXECUTOR. We must therefore all praise Him, thank Him and continue to pray of His intervention for proper guidance.

2. In the same vein, I thank the good people of Niger State for the overwhelming support given to my Party and to all our Candidates. I thank you for the peaceful conduct of the elections. I thank you immensely for giving me the opportunity to serve you and for keeping the dream of reinventing Niger State. Your support meant a lot, still does and always will. You have asked for transparent, accountable and collective decision-making government and administration and you have elected and sworn-in the head of the administration today. We are all your servants to serve and provide services to you. Because I am your servant I request and appeal to you to address me as Chief Servant rather than Excellency. Excellency is for the Lords, Presidents and Ambassadors and not for Servants of the people.

3. I also seize the opportunity to congratulate President Umaru Musa Yar’adua and the Deputy President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and assure them of the respect, high consideration and loyalty of the people of Niger State to their administration. Let me also congratulate our elected Senators, Members of the House of Representatives and all the Members of the State Assembly. We have a lot of work to do and we cannot allow anything to distract us.

4. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me at this juncture to pay tribute to the following people who have impacted positively on my life:

i) My Parents, Late Alhaji Aliyu Muazu, MON, Sarkin Yaki and his wife Hajiya Jamila Aliyu;

ii) My Predecessor, the outgoing Governor Engr. Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure, and his wife Distinguished Senator Zainab A. Kure;

iii) Outgoing President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR

My brothers and Mentors

iv) Former President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR;

v) Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, GCFR;

vi) Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar CFR, Chairman, Niger State Traditional Council;

vii) Mallam Ibrahim Aliyu, Sardaunan Minna; and

viii) All those who have one way or other contributed to my development to see me standing here today.

5. I therefore stand here today to celebrate you, the good people of Niger State and to celebrate what our great State signifies a gifted, ground-breaking State with massive potentials. I applaud you all for your open-mindedness, which has always been your virtue and is a unique element to self-actualisation. I see today as the beginning of greater things ahead and a dawn of a new generation of leadership that will ensure partnership between our three arms of government – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary and the great people of Niger State. In fact a contract signed, sealed and delivered between myself, you the people of Niger State and Allah (SWT). This contract is a challenge and trial for us to do everything with the fear of Allah and in fairness to all.

6. Just a week ago, someone very dear to me stared into my eyes and said, “Talban, now that you have been elected as the new Governor of Niger State, what all this means to you? Do not answer me yet. Just think about it”, he said. Well I have been thinking about it everyday since I joined the race and came to the conclusion that being a Governor to me means love and service to my people and responsibility to my State. It means selflessness and sincere devotion in the discharge of my duties and setting goals that will raise the standard of living for everyone. It further means the respect for your collective beliefs, values and desire for good governance. It also means the joy and pleasure to serve you, console you and empathize with your every need. It is an opportunity to demand for and give an accountable leadership by example not captured or dominated by selfish interest but rather supported and protected by collective/public will and interest.

7. Again, to me it also means that leadership is not superiority or arrogance but humility and ability to integrate each and every segment of the society by ensuring that harmony exists in our collaborative relationship and partnership to unveiling productive means that satisfies the majority of our people and I daresay all of our people. Indeed, it means most importantly a shared vision of making Niger State one of the most if not the most developed State in Nigeria. It further means that we should all act in accordance to the rules and regulation and observe Due process in all our undertakings.

8. It is interesting to note that State Assembly is balanced between the Ruling Party and other Political Parties, young and articulate that cannot be taken for granted. This is a healthy development for our State and our democracy. I therefore appeal to all members-elect to work for the general interest of State. We in the Executive arm shall work and collaborate closely with State Assembly.

9. You will, therefore, agree with me that it is imperative to work together to address our urgent needs as a State. This Government solicits your endless support, encouragement and guidance for this State belongs to all of us. I may be the Governor but ultimately, developing this State belongs to all of us. While I shall endeavour to be a good facilitator for change and progress, the remedy to all our problems remains in our collective determination and sincerity of purpose. Please no one should ask me to steal government money to give you as it is the money of all Nigerlites, but you can demand for good service. A leader/servant can only be generous with his personal money and not with public funds. We shall together fight indiscipline and instill discipline in our society. We shall together fight corruption and have Zero tolerance for corruption leakages and wastage both in governance and in our society. We shall make Niger State EFCC and ICPC friendly because we shall open our books for Nigerlites to see what we are doing.

10. Our shared vision therefore is to create a State where there is free exchange of ideas, where everyone feels carried along. I dream of a State that is blessed with justice, equity, peace and harmony. A developed and prosperous State within the Nigerian Federal polity.

11. As a corollary, we shall put in place a mechanism tagged ‘feedback stations’ where your views, advices, complaints, worries and appraisals of our leadership will be monitored and analysed. It will be a medium where ideas will be shared and your contributions accommodated. In addition to the feedback stations, we shall also create a Niger State People Forum (to be called Niger Jama’a forum) so that we will come to your villages and towns for a discussion and consultation under the tree or in halls to analyse our problems and proffer solutions to them. I realize that the most ideal way to partnership with you is to engage you in all activities of government especially in the policy-making area. The outcome of such consultations will be further analysed by the Economic and Social Advisory Council, which shall have our eminent and experienced citizens as members.

12. I also again extend my hands of fellowship to all because:

i) It will be an understatement to say that the State is facing development challenges not yet out of the woods and a lot more to be done. Basic facilities like potable water and electricity supplies are still inadequate and in many cases out of the reach of our populace; our agricultural potentials remain untapped, thus leaving the majority of population, who are mainly peasant farmers, in abject poverty. This situation needs to be reversed.

ii) Our social infrastructure, like Schools and Hospital remain dilapidated and are collapsing. These need to be rehabilitated, modernised and upgraded.

iii) Our State Capital and other Urban Centres remain congested and in a state of filth. Basic sanitation standards are hardly appreciated and maintained. We need to have a deliberate policy to stem rural migration, to save our cities from imminent decay. We also need to undertaken an Urban Renewal Programme. Minna as a State Capital need a separate Urban Development Authority to be in charge of greater Minna.

iv) Rural Infrastructure is almost non-existent. Feeder roads, Basic Health care facilities, rural Electricity supplies, need to be provided to more Communities to improve their living conditions. We shall accord this serious attention.

v) With all the attendant problems facing the State, our revenue generation capacity remains low. Our Internal revenue generation efforts need improvement. We cannot afford to depend one hundred percent on Federal Allocation.

13. In all these, we need the cooperation and intervention of the Federal Government. We shall therefore be friendly with our leaders at the centre and with all relevant Federal institutions. We shall also bring the principles of Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ginger our commercial, industrial and Entrepreneurial development. The task is enormous, we cannot do it alone and therefore we need the full co-operation of everybody and we cannot afford to be antagonistic to the Federal Government. Indeed, we need the cooperation and understanding of also our neighbouring States.

14. SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT REQUIRE URGENT ATTENTION

a. Agriculture

Fellow Nigerlites, Distinguished Guests, Niger State is blessed with potentials for the development of agriculture. Indeed each political Zone of the State can also serve as an Ecological Zone for the development of agriculture. The incoming administration shall give deserving attention to the agricultural sector such that the sector shall be deployed to improve Food Security, process for export and to generate gainful employment for our citizens.

Our agricultural development efforts will involve giving more assistance to Small and Medium Scale Farmers requiring agricultural Inputs and Technologies. It will also involve the revitalization of Extension services and the intensification of Farmer Education.

The production of Industrial Raw Materials, large-scale commercial farming shall be encouraged and supported. Public-Private Partnership in Agricultural Development shall be supported by the incoming administration. Plantation Agriculture will also be supported through collaboration with stakeholders.

b. Civil Service

We recognize the Civil Service as the engine that drives our development effort in terms of policy formulation and implementation. No matter how good our intentions are, or how brilliant our plans are, the Socio-economic development of the State cannot be achieved without the support of a committed and loyal civil service. The Service must therefore be alive to its responsibilities. We shall reform both the State and Local Governments Civil Service by ensuring that nominal roll does not contain “Ghost”, “retired” or “dead people”. We shall reform the Civil Service by ensuring it has the capacity to carry out its functions. We shall reform the Civil Service to understand performance and be result oriented. As we reform the Civil Service, we shall review salaries and allowances, and partner with relevant corporate organizations in the provision of transportation and housing for Civil Servants. The problem of Gratuity and Pension Arrears will be addressed soonest while our administration will ensure regular payments of same.

c. Commerce, Industry, Culture and Tourism

Dear Nigerlites, the promotion of Commerce and Industry will be given greater attention by the incoming administration. In pursuant of this, we shall promulgate progressive Laws to provide incentives to would-be investors in the state. We shall also improve the industrial infrastructure through the provision of adequate Urban Water Supply; Establishment of Industrial Estates in each Zone, and the promotion of Industrial Clusters across the State. As a matter of policy, the Government intends to encourage the emergence of Growth Centres in each Zone.

d. Education

Fellow Nigerlites, distinguished guests, because education is the catalyst for any meaningful development, our administration will give priority to the development of the Education Sector. In doing this we shall rehabilitate the existing education structures and construct new ones. We shall also ensure the improvement of quality of teaching through training and retraining and provide greater incentives to Teachers. Greater attention shall be paid to Secondary and Tertiary Education by improving the structure and through the acquisition of modern teaching materials and equipment. Our Science and Vocation Institutions will be re-equipped and modernized to meet the required standards. The Niger State Polytechnic Zungeru will be updated and equipped to facilitate full accreditation by the National Board for Technical Education. The development of the I.B.B. University, Lapai, shall be continued and enhanced in order to create the centre of educational excellence.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Basic Education for all children of the State shall be compulsory and free. Education for Girl-Child on a trial basis will be free at all levels until we are able to confirm the real financial implication of the project. We shall also partner with the Emirate Councils, Parents, Private Organizations and all agencies of education in the provision and management of our educational system. I call on those Emirs who are yet to establish their foundation/trusts to please do so with dispatch. Let me also hasten to add that there will be no discriminatory school fees for any Nigerian who had stayed for five years in Niger State to conform to the provision of Constitution.

e. Employment Generation

Fellow Nigerlites, no society can make appreciable progress if it does not cater for the future of its Youths, which is the successor generation.

Presently, unemployment among our Youths is growing at an alarming proportion in the state. This is unacceptable. The drift must be arrested and the trend reversed. The focus of our Youth Employment Programmes shall be on Capacity Building for Self Employment. At the end of Skills Development training, we should produce Job Creators and not Job Seekers.

To achieve the objective of redirecting the energies of our Youths towards gainful self-employment, we shall ensure adequate funding of the Skills Development training Programmes of the relevant Agencies charged with such responsibilities. We shall relate with the appropriate donor agencies like UNDP, USAID, DFID AND GTZ, while paying attention to domestic agencies like NAPEP, and NDE; and other Non-Governmental Organizations like Project YES, WRAPPA and Better Life for African Women.
For the increasing number of unemployed graduate, a Graduate Employment Programme shall be established, to retrain graduates in productive vocations and marketable trades and add value to their certificates so that they can be employed anywhere in the World.

To further create opportunities for gainful employment for our youth, Direct Labour Projects shall be encouraged in all Government Ministries and Agencies.

f. Health

In the area of Health care delivery, my administration shall ensure the provision of Basic Health Care Facilities to all Communities. We shall also reactivate and improve existing facilities and establish Secondary Health Care Facilities in all Local Government Headquarters in the State.

In addition, the incoming administration shall establish three (3) Specialized Tertiary Health Care Institutions in each of the three Senatorial Zones. Dispensaries and Mobile Clinic Services will be provided to our rural communities without established Health Centres.

The Training of Medical and Para Medical Staff shall be given greater attention. In this regards our Training Institutions in Minna, Bida and Tungan Magajia shall be modernized and upgraded to meet the required standards. We are also thinking of a medical city that shall serve the whole of West Africa. Instead of going abroad for medical attention, we should be able to provide it here.

g. Judiciary

Ladies and Gentlemen, the sustenance of our Democratic experiment requires the presence of a motivated Judiciary. For this to happen, our Administration shall improve and update their Working environment, provide modern working equipment and cater for the general welfare and well being of Judicial Officers, so as to enhance speedy dispensation of Justice to the Citizens. Indeed, we shall hold the judiciary for the implementation of its budget so as to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

h. Local Government Structure

We shall continue our consultation on how best to make the local Governments function by providing services to the people. A situation where local Governments only pays salaries for jobs not done can no longer be tolerated. We shall seize the window of opportunity presented by the incoming Federal Administration to resolve the Constitutional Stalemate in relation to the new Local Government created by the Outgoing administration in the State. We shall therefore review the ‘Joint Account’ system as operated to conform to the Constitutional provisions. The concept of ‘Development Areas’ will be further enunciated and properly operationalized.

i. Peoples Democratic Party PDP

The last primaries, campaigns and elections revealed that PDP in Niger State had nearly lost its focus and purpose. Indeed, in many communities we were accosted by hostile questions and re-actions whereby we were compelled to insist that what we represented is the NEW PDP with human face and with capacity to deliver service to the people. The levels of antiparty activities displayed by many members including prominent members also call for reorganization, restructuring and discipline.

What we need now is a sense of purpose and proper reconciliation whereby every registered member can feel safe and partake in the activities of the party transparently from the polling booth to the Ward to the Local Government to Zones and the State Council. This is a task that must be done if we want PDP to remain relevant. From today there should be no imposition of candidates for whatever elections no preferential treatment of individuals. Let the people choose their leaders freely without hindrance, fear or intimidation. The party should be given its proper place to serve its members and the people.

j. Security

Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow Nigerlites, for meaningful development to take place in the state, there will be the need for Peace and Security. It is our hope and expectation that the several development programmes to be initiated and undertaken by the incoming administration, shall create employment and improve the living standards of our people especially the youths. Hopefully, this will help to reduce the level of youth restiveness and crimes.

It is the policy of our administration to reinvigorate security at Local Level. In this regard, we shall continue to support our traditional Rulers and the Emirate System to reinforce security apparatus to avert and detect criminal activities among their subject. At the State Level, our administration will improve on the level of support given to all Security Agencies in the fight against crime in the state.

CONCLUSION

15. Distinguished fellow Nigerlites, I wish to thank you again for giving us the opportunity to serve. In-sha Allah and with your renewed vigilance we shall not betray the confidence reposed on us by you all. We shall work tirelessly to improve the welfare and well being of all. In the process we shall call on you to make more sacrifices, we shall ask for your understanding. We shall ask for your specific and regular contributions because we believe we must proceed to the government and the people with a heart that is clean, a goal that is high and a zeal that is unquenchable.

16. In light of the above, I shall demand for more sacrifices from my relations and friends. I am afraid of failure because I don’t know what it is. I want to succeed. I need your help and assistance and together we shall succeed. As a sign of our determination to succeed, I have generated a credo that will in addition to our National anthem and pledge be a permanent anchor inspiring us to work devotedly as one people.

17. From this moment we remain one as citizens of Niger State irrespective of Party affiliation tribe or religion. Justice and equity are values we hold strongly. Ladies and Gentlemen, for your sole satisfaction and as a symbol or our good intentions towards our State, I leave you with our new pride and joy: Niger State’s credo, our guide to self-actualisation!

Long Live Niger State

Long Live the Good People of Niger State

Long Live the Federal Republic ofNigeria

18. May the Peace, Guidance and Blessings of the Almighty God be ours. Amin. May I also request the Good people of Niger State, all our friends and well-wishers to continue to help us with prayers. Those who can afford to fast for a day within the next two weeks for our success and success of Niger State and that of Nigeria. I thank you and wish you safe journey to your destinations.