Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger has said his statement on the dress code for civil servants was quoted out of context and wrongly presented to the public.
The governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Bologi Ibrahim, and made available to Journalists on Tuesday in Minna said the video going viral on social media platforms where the Governor was captured saying civil servants from Mondays to Thursdays should not dress in native attire popularly called ‘Babban Riga’ in Hausa language, did not capture the statement in its original context.
Bologi explained that the Governor’s statement did not in any way imply that civil servants now have a dress code to office from Monday to Thursday as erroneously captured in the video making the rounds.
According to him, “Mr Governor believes that, as a state, we have no reason to be poor because of the enormous agricultural potentials of the state and that his government was already investing heavily in the agricultural revolution, hence the need for all to collectively embrace farming including the civil servants”.
He said the Governor was only encouraging civil servants to be farmers and to be a good farmer, you will need to dress smartly to farm, stressing that the Governor’s statement did not in any way imply that civil servants now have a dress code to office from Monday to Thursday as erroneously captured in the video making the rounds.
He said, “The Governor did not announce or mandate any dress code for the civil servants, rather he meant every professional should be dressed based on the demands of his or her job”.
The statement further highlighted that the viral video was curiously and mischievously edited to malign the Governor stressing that the general public must disregard the clip because the full video clearly defines what he meant.
The Governor’s Spokesman however advised social media influencers to be mindful and sure of the contents and context of the information they circulate on social media to avoid misrepresentations of facts.
. TheWitness
