Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Jonathan Tsado Vatsa has publicly criticised Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s administration over the rising cost of the IBB Specialist Hospital remodelling project, which has escalated from N11.8 billion to N18.2 billion and remains unfinished.
Vatsa, a former senior figure in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who has since left the party, described the hospital project as one of the most questionable undertakings of the current administration. He asked why the cost had risen by N6.4 billion without the project reaching completion and demanded a review of the funds committed to the exercise.
He also questioned the utilisation of an alleged N1.5 trillion loan taken by the state government. “The question now is, where is the N1 trillion naira? What happened to the money?” Vatsa said, noting that the governor had indicated N500 billion was needed for various road projects while several road works across the state appeared abandoned despite increased federal allocations and substantial borrowing.
Vatsa warned that the state’s growing debt burden could impose financial difficulties on future generations, arguing that the government had failed to translate the resources at its disposal into completed infrastructure. He cited the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations that followed the removal of fuel subsidies as largely unspent.
He also faulted the state’s agricultural initiatives, particularly the Niger Food Programme, claiming that no grain had been harvested under the programme in the last three and a half years. Vatsa described the government’s “agricultural revolution” narrative as propaganda and raised concerns about the state’s capacity to improve food production and address food insecurity.
Vatsa said his earlier attempts to bring governance concerns to the APC‑led government through press statements had proved unsuccessful, and that he had been labelled an opposition figure within the party. After leaving the APC, he criticised the party’s failure to tackle Nigeria’s governance challenges since 2015 and the Niger State Government’s political direction ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that the government’s “New Niger” slogan was inconsistent with the situation on the ground and that residents deserved measurable results from public expenditure.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
