By Our Correspondent, Minna
The Niger State House of Assembly has approved Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago’s request to secure a N20.4 billion loan facility to finance a major agricultural expansion project aimed at boosting food production and logistics across the state.
The approval was granted on Tuesday during plenary following the presentation of a letter from Governor Bago to the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, seeking legislative backing for the transaction.
The request, which was read on the floor by the Speaker, sought approval for a bank guarantee in favour of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to facilitate a $14.45 million financing arrangement from the Saudi EXIM Bank for the Niger Food Security Systems and Logistics Company.
According to the governor, the loan proposal had earlier received the endorsement of the State Executive Council at its 563rd meeting held on May 18, 2026, before being transmitted to the legislature for consideration.
Bago explained that the request was being made in line with relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and other extant laws governing public borrowing in the state.
He disclosed that the facility would run for a tenure of 84 months, including an 18-month moratorium, and would be deployed to support the operational expansion of the Niger Food Security Systems and Logistics Company.
A major component of the project, according to the governor, is the development of a 3,000-hectare fully irrigated farm estate in Paikoro Local Government Area, a flagship initiative expected to strengthen the state’s agricultural value chain and enhance food security.
The governor urged lawmakers to grant expedited approval, stressing the strategic importance of the project to the state’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Following the reading of the correspondence, lawmakers proceeded into an executive session where the request was considered and subsequently approved.
The approval marks another significant step in the Bago administration’s aggressive push to position Niger State as a leading agricultural hub, with large-scale investments in mechanised farming, irrigation infrastructure and food production systems.