Niger State Governor, Dr. Abubakar Sani Bello flag-off the development of three (3) demonstration projects to serve and improve the lives and livelihood of not less than 500,000 residents of Niger State. The flag-off ceremony which held at the office of the secretary to the Niger State Government on 5th of September 2022 activates the implementation of the State Urban Policy with the supported by UN-Habitat and the Republic of Korea.

In his welcome remarks, Professor Mustapha Zubairu, the coordinator – Niger State Urban Support Programme stated that following the request of the Niger State Governor at Second International Conference on National Urban Policy held at Paris in 2017, the State has received support from UN-Habitat and the Republic of Korea on the Formulation on the State Urban Policy for the transformation of the towns and cities in Niger State. He also mentioned that presently, the South Korea Government is graciously supporting the State Government to kick-start implementation of the policy through 3 demonstration projects. Prof. Mustapha thereafter urges all the beneficiaries to closely monitor and safeguard the projects.

The Governor of Niger State ably represented by Secretary to the State Government Alh. Ahmed Matane expressed his pleasure on the support of UN-Habitat and the Republic of Korea in addressing challenges of urbanization in Niger State more importantly through the formulation and implementation of the State Urban Policy. Mr. Governor also noted that, as part of the effort of government in securing political support for the implementation of the Policy; the executive council of the Niger State Government has approved the Urban Policy as a framework to guiding urban and territorial development in the state and to also maximizing transformative potentials of urbanization. According to him, the projects are (i) Urban Reforestation for Climate Change Mitigation; (ii) Rehabilitation of Three (3) Bi-water Schemes; (iii) Provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facility in an urban Informal Settlement. He said “the three projects will improve the lives of all Nigerlites in different dimensions”.

Dr Remy Sietchiping – the Chief Policy Legislation and Governance Section of UN-Habitat ably represented by the UN-Habitat field consultant in Niger State Mr. Emmanuel Adeleke congratulated the Niger State Government for the launching of the implementation of the demonstration projects which stems from the State Urban Policy. He noted that the project selection process was very thorough and competitive. He said “out of twelve (12) proposals received from Niger State for the implementation of demonstration project under the Korea National Urban Policy Programme, three (3) projects were carefully selected based on their alignment with the State’s Urban Policy Priority areas, geographical scope, and measurable impacts”. Dr Remy Sietchiping asserted that the State Urban Policy is a tool for achieving effective governance; integrated and balanced territorial development and amongst others things. He also urges the Niger State Government to take conscious and deliberate actions on the implementation of the State Urban Policy for the betterment of the state.

Ms. Helen Umaru – the General Manager Niger State Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (NISTWASSA) expressed her sincere appreciation to the UN-Habitat and the Republic of Korea for the humane intervention. She mentioned that out of the total 53 bi-water schemes constructed to provide clean water in small towns across the states only 4 (7.5 per cent) of are functional  while 49 (92.5 per cent) are non-functional. She said “this intervention as will provide great relief to service deficits in the state more importantly in the aspect of water supply in small towns.

To conclude the flag-off ceremony, the State Governor encourages all the stakeholders including the communities to take ownership of the projects for sustainability. He equally advised the consultants engaged to deliver the projects in good time.