***Orders closure of hotels in Suleja
The Chairman of Suleja local government area of Niger State, Alhaji Isiyaku Bawa Naibi has vowed to enforce the ban on the sales of alcohol by the state liquor license board despite directive by the state governor Rt. Hon. Umar Bago disassociating the state government from the ban.
The Chairman said he will not only enforce the ban on the sales of alcohol in his local government council and it’s environs, all hotels operating below standard will be closed down while a new tax regime will be visited on those that will be allowed to operate.
The Chairman’s position is coming on against the backdrop that the Governor had indicated that his administration did not order any ban on the sales of alcohol in the state as that was not the immediate priority of his administration.
The State Government through a statement in Minna, affirmed that the Governor had not imposed any ban on alcohol sales and consumption in any specific area in the state, especially Suleja local government area of the state.
The government Categorically dismissed as baseless such assertions, saying that the Governor never issued any directive on the ban of alcoholic drinks in any part of the state.
The governor further pointed out that the statement attributed to the Secretary of the Niger State Liquor and Licensing Board, Ibrahim Mohammed, did not emanate from the government, adding that no such board has been formed under his administration.
The Governor had in addition to the denial, instructed security agents to apprehend the author of the statement, Mohammed Ibrahim, the self-appointed Secretary of the non-existent board, to investigate the motives behind the false pronouncement.
While Emphasizing the commitment of his administration to safeguarding citizens’ fundamental rights, including freedom of religion, the governor assured residents that such misleading information holds no merit in the policies if his government and therefore urged citizens to continue their lawful activities without undue concern.
“The public and media are urged to disregard such announcements and seek clarification from authorized government officials for accurate information”, the statement added.
But the Council Chairman while meeting with hotels and beer parlour operators at the council secretariat on Tuesday made it clear that his council was going ahead with the enforcement of the ban on the sales of alcohol in his council.
According to the operators, the chairman specifically told them to disregard the statement by the state government, warning that he will not allow the sales of alcohol in his council despite the governor’s directives.
He was also quoted to have vowed to close down all hotels in Suleja and it’s environs except those that meet operational standard, adding that such hotels should be ready to pay the new approved tax by the council.
One of the operators told our correspondent on phone that “we just held a meeting with the council chairman and he told us that the council was going ahead with the ban on the sales of alcohol in his council.
“He said we should pretend that we did not see any statement from the state government or the governor. He told us that such statement is political and that the reality is that he will not allow the sales of alcohol in his council”.
However, all attempts to get the reaction of the chairman could not yield any result as his phone was not connecting after several trials.