Niger State House of Assembly has approved another $14,445,007.06 bank loan to finance Niger Foods Security Systems and Logistics Company in the state.
Speaker Barrister Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji disclosed this during plenary in Minna on resumption from the short Eid-el-Kabir recess.
Sarkin-Daji said the Assembly received a request from Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago for legislative approval of a bank guarantee in favor of United Bank for Africa, UBA, under the Saudi EXIM Line of Financing.
It was learnt that the State Executive Council had already approved the facility at its 563rd meeting to support the expansion of Niger Foods.
According to the governor’s correspondence, the 84-month loan with an 18-month moratorium will fund a fully irrigated 3,000-hectare agricultural estate in Paikoro LGA.
The project is expected to increase food production, strengthen agricultural value chains, and improve food security statewide.
Bago urged the House to fast-track approval to ensure timely execution of the project, which he said aligns with his administration’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Resuming legislative duties after the Sallah break, Speaker Sarkin-Daji said the Assembly would focus on governance, accountability, and economic development. He added that lawmakers also approved recommendations to improve financial management in local governments across Niger State.
The Speaker welcomed members back from recess, congratulated those who got party tickets for upcoming elections, and encouraged those who lost, saying every outcome is by God’s will.
