The Governor of Niger State, Muhammed Bago has said that he didn’t aurthorise the purported ban of the sale of alcoholic beverages in the state.
TheHintsNews reports that media report had claimed that the Secretary of the state’s Liquor and Licencing Board, Malam Ibrahim Mohammed said the ban of alcohol takes immediate effect on Monday in Suleja and eight other local governments sharing boundaries with suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
However, Bago in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday described the story as a figment of the imagination of mischief makers in the state.
He described the report that alcohol has been banned in Suleja and eight other local governments sharing boundaries with suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as fake.
Bago noted that there was no time he authorised such a directive and the so-called secretary is unknown to the state.
The governor said: “The attention of the Niger State Government has been drawn to a report making the rounds of some blogs claiming that the Niger State Government, through the state’s Liquor and Licensing Board, has prohibited the sale of alcohol in nine Local Government Areas of the state, including Suleja.
“We wish to state categorically that His Excellency, Farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who has been busy initiating and overseeing many people-centered projects across the state, never issued such a directive.
“The liquor and Licensing board is yet to be constituted by the governor; as such, no directive of this kind can come from a board yet to be formed.
“In light of the above, His Excellency, the Farmer Governor, has directed security agents to arrest the self-appointed Secretary of this board by name Mohammed Ibrahim, and to understand the motives of the imposter and the reasons behind the pronouncement.
“We invite the good public and our friends in the media to ignore any such pronouncements and to, henceforth, seek clarification from known government officials who are authorized to speak for the state and government.”