I Did Not Order The Niger Workers' Dress Code — Bago

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said he was quoted out of context and wrongly presented in a viral video circulating social media of him directing the state civil servants to dress in a particular form.

Governor Bago in the said video where he spoke in Hausa purportedly asked civil servants not to be wearing “Baba Riga and Caftan” and that they should brace up and start going to farm.

He has since apologized, though, according to a statement issued by his chief press secretary Bologi Ibrahim. She claims that the governor's remarks about native clothing—known as “Baba Riga” in Hausa—were not accurately captured in the video that went viral on social media and showed him telling servants that they shouldn't wear it from Monday through Thursday.

“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,” Ibrahim stated.

He said the governor was only encouraging civil servants to be farmers and to be good farmers. According to Ibrahim, the governor merely encouraged the public workers to always dress smartly to farm which he said “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.”

Also Read: Niger Government Forbids Civil Servants From Wearing kaftans To Work

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.

He insisted that the public should ignore the clip because the entire video makes it clear what the governor intended to convey, claiming that the widely shared video was “curiously and mischievously” edited to disparage the governor.

In order to prevent factual misrepresentations, he counseled social media influencers to be cautious and certain about the information they share on social media and its context.