Gov. Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger has pledged to resuscitate abandoned government investments, to make them functional and to add value to the state.
He said this when he visited the state Printing Press, on Wednesday, as part of a recommendation made for the governor to visit the facility, by the Niger state House of Assembly Committee on Rules and Business, in Minna.
Bello noted that there were a lot of non-functional government investments that needed attention, adding that the state government would work towards ensuring they were resuscitated and made sustainable.
He lamented that most of the machines being used at the printing press were purchased in 1977, saying that there was the need for replacement with modern equipment to enable it generate revenue.
”Equipping the printing press will boost the internal revenue generation of the state and we need to take care of government assets going forward, and we will try our best to do so.
“Once we are able to change some of these equipment, the printing press will become the state of the art printing press and it will be able to compete with any other printing press,” he said.
Bello observed that Col. Cletus Emen was the last state governor that visited the printing press, adding that there were similar investments, in different places, that had been neglected but needed to be resuscitated to function effectively.
He disclosed that government would consider absorbing staff who had retired, and those soon to retire, from the printing press, to address the skills shortage and boost the staff strength.
Earlier, Hajiya Fatima Mohammed, Director of the of the Printing Press, said some of the challenges faced by the press were inadequate skilled staff, lack of modern digital machines, hazard allowance and a conducive working environment.
She said that with the availability of modern equipment and patronage from the three tiers of government, the printing press had the capacity to meet its revenue target.
Meanwhile, Abdullahi Gbara, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, explained that the committee had earlier visited the printing press for an oversight function and saw the need for the governor to inspect the facility with a view to improving it.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor was accompanied by his deputy, Ahmed Ketso, Secretary to the State government, Ahmed Matene, Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Balarabe and members of the state executive council and Permanent Secretary, Special Duties in the SSG’s Office, Francis Gyiwodeyi. (NAN)
