Niger: Sani Musa gets knocks over remarks on Agaie-Baro Port

The senator representing Niger East senatorial district at the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani Musa has come under attack from various quarters over his comment on the 2025 budgetary allocation to the road linking Baro Port from Agaie in the Niger South senatorial district of the state. 

Contributing to plenary debate last week, Senator Sani Musa was quoted to have made contentious remarks about the 2025 federal budget allocations for Niger state in a viral video. 

The senator who is also Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, in the video clip was seen condemning the proposed N50 billion allocation for the Baro-Kachia-Agaie road in Niger South senatorial district. 

Senator Sani Musa had argued that all road projects in Niger state are concentrated in one place while dismissing the Baro Port area as having nobody on that road and that nothing is at Baro Port.

In a statement issued by the chairman Niger South Stakeholders Forum, Dr. Mohammed K. Santuraki (Santurakin Nupe), the stakeholders rejected his claims as “negative hyperbole,” stressing that road networks are critical to activating the Baro Port’s potential. 

“For an inland port to thrive, you need viable access routes. Dismissing these projects as ‘unfair’ simply because they’re outside his constituency is unbecoming of a leader with statewide influence,” Santuraki stated.  

The stakeholders urged Musa to leverage his role as finance committee chair to advocate for additional projects in Niger East rather than publicly attacking allocations to other districts.

Reacting, however, Senator Sani Musa disclaimed the contents of the viral video as false narrative against his comment.

“My attention has been drawn to the deliberate misrepresentation of my comment on the floor of the Senate regarding the disproportionate allocation of road projects in the 2025 budget.

“To set the record straight, my concern was about fairness and the need for strategic prioritization of road infrastructure based on economic viability, haulage and vehicular traffic,” he explained. 

He said , “The 2025 budget allocates approximately N4.3 trillion for road projects, yet only the Agaie-Katcha-Baro Road was included for Niger State, with an allocation of less than a quarter of a billion naira—an amount grossly inadequate for constructing any meaningful kilometers of road.

“I questioned the rationale behind chosen this road over others with significantly higher traffic and economic importance, such as Minna-Suleja, Jebba-Mokwa-Makera-Tegina (leading to Birnin Gwari and Kaduna), and Bida-Lambata roads.”