As part of his preparation to take charge of the affairs of Niger State, His Excellency, Rt Honorable Mohammed Umaru Bago, the Governor-elect has accompanied the outgoing Governor of Niger State HE Abubakar Sani Bello to Cairo, Egypt to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Niger State, AFREXIM Bank and ORASCOM. The MOU is in respect of the Suleja Smart City Project, which was conceived in 2015.
According to Alhaji Aminu Takuma, a member of the Niger State transition committee who was part of the delegation he said the MOU covers a clause to further conduct feasibility studies on the project to enable ORASCOM to validate the previous Feasibility Study and report carried out by a Korean company, DOA with the funding grant of $1.7 million provided by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Takuma also said that HE Abubakar Bello, the outgoing Governor of Niger State led the Niger State delegation that included the Governor-elect and some key members of the transition team. While the. AFREXIM Bank was represented by Ms. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice-President, Intra-African Trade Bank, and ORASCOM was represented by Mr. Tarek Khattab. The discussion of the project cantered around two key areas , ORASCOM will validate the Feasibility Study carried out by the Korean company and the Master Plan for the Pilot site covering 1,219 hectares also ORASCOM will have exclusivity over the Master Plan for the Pilot site of 1,219 hectares as determined by the Korean company.
While Governor Abubakar Sani Bello signed on behalf of the state government, Tarek Khattab signed on behalf of the Company.
While in Cairo the governor-elect who resumes office on the 29th of May, 2023 expressed his readiness to actualize the project once the in-depth review of the MOU has been fully ascertained, especially as the project will provide 2,000 direct and indirect jobs to people in and around the state.
Other members of the delegation included the Niger State Commissioners for Justice, Trade, and Investments, and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, members of the Transition Committee Amina Sanusi and Michael Ango amongst others.
Suleja LGA’s infrastructure has been under strain for several years due to the influx of commuters who live in Suleja and work in Abuja. This has had an added pressure on commerce, education, health and housing amenities in the Local government which has prompted the Niger State Government to plan an upgrade and transformation of the Suleja town master plan to turn it to an urban city with smart homes.