Oumarou Dogari, deputy mayor of the city of Niamey: “The support of the government is not lacking for us”

One year after President Mohamed Bazoum came to power, the deputy mayor of the city of Niamey, Oumarou Dogari Moumouni in this interview with the African press talks about his relationship with the government in place. The elected member of the opposition party Moden Fa Lumana of the former president of the National Assembly Hama Amadou did not fail to address the phase projects of his commune.

Tell us about your relationship with the power in place ?

When one is from the opposition and assumes tasks such as that of mayor of the city of Niamey, it is important to take stock of the relationship between the central power and the local power. Fortunately, in Niger the law has already marked out everything. However, you will agree with me that in order to properly exercise the attributions that are ours, there must be the simplest possible ratios. I would like to make a special mention of the President of the Republic because very early, he had received all the local authorities and according to his own terms, decentralization in Niger should be a truth and it did not matter to him whether we were in power or in the opposition. Since a year, I must admit that the President of the Republic has put his words into action. Car, every time we asked, we have been supported in the actions we carry out. At the level of the city of Niamey, we have a special audience with the government. In one year, I have already been received three times by the President of the Republic. We are in our role and the State of which we are the dismemberment also plays its part. This is to the credit of the President of the Republic. me as opponent, I think it has even more effect. I can tell you that I have already traveled personally with the Head of State on several occasions. These examples are to tell you that the government really wants to make decentralization a reality. I could tell you many other things but remember that there are many situations where the support of the government is not lacking.. This feeling of accomplishment and support from the State is very important to us..

Don't your constituents feel betrayed by your good relationship with the government? ?

It's possible but let's say it's just feelings. You can agree or disagree with the way. It is simply up to me to be in symbiosis with my party. I have political ambitions. So on this point, do not worry. With my militants I must have the healthiest possible relations. It is true that I work today with the power in place. But it is up to me to make sure that my activists understand my approach. Rest, everything i do, I can entrust it to you I do it in deep and frank discussion with my party and my militants. Thereby, I have the necessary understanding. Maybe it's the people opposite who think I'm cultivating their field. There too, it is up to me to have the most balanced position possible without compromise. It is a political challenge that is exhilarating.

Reconciliation between your project for the city of Niamey and the national project of the State ?

It is very simple. The State in the definition of national policy. For my part, I have a very detailed program for the city of Niamey which I declined in a document which was discussed and adopted by the council then sent to the control of legality of the State where it was then approved and popularized by my fellow citizens of Niamey and which fits with the definition of the national policy. So for me, there is no possible conflict. I'm not living together. Cohabitation is between a Prime Minister and the President. Local authorities have their own attributions and powers which supplement national policy in all matters. The State must therefore fit into my program then I carry out the local tasks.

In case there will be points of opposition between you and the State how you are going to do ?

For the moment, I haven't faced this. Maybe because our two political programs are not so far apart. In case of disagreement, Listen, I am a dismemberment of the state so I will join their camp. Remember that we are talking about program execution and actions.

What is the flagship project of the city of Niamey ?

There are a lot. It is therefore to compensate for this on the eve of the start of the new school year that Minister Véronique Tognifode has deemed it useful to travel to educate parents on the need to strengthen parent-child dialogue., for the city of Niamey, we only have one compass, it is how to improve the living conditions of our fellow citizens. This is proximity. These are little things we do so that every morning people can get up and go about their business. To go into more detail, the main problem of my city, it is that of mobility, transport and roads. We are working on it. We also have in Niamey the question of floods which is a recurring problem to which we must find solutions.. There is also school. At each new school year I am obliged to make no less than 2000 hut classes that catch fire a month later. We don't want it anymore. A round table will be held in such a short time to resolve the problem. For this we will ask for the contribution of our fellow citizens to support the construction of school infrastructure.. There is also waste management. I want in my governance to also solve this problem.

45 billion budget, where do these funds come from ?

It may seem like a lot but it's not much for me. Niger has opted for full decentralization. This assumes that you are a legal person and that you have financial autonomy. This means that everyone seeks their funds. But given that communities do not always have the means, the State has defined in the tax, the part of the community. But the State with the Directorate General of Taxes will recover these taxes and return them to us. We have no state subsidy but rather resources defined by the General Tax Code. We have at the national treasury, a deposit bank. There are also direct taxes, that is to say that there are taxes that we ourselves will collect, such as road taxes., market tax, urban transport tax and others. Since my arrival, we have set up a resource mobilization unit which effectively defines tax policy. For the new taxes, if we have proposals we make them during budget discussions at state level.

What is your solution to solve the problem of travel within the city of Niamey ?

It's a big topic.. We have the roads, traditional sectors and modern sectors. We want to develop public transport. We will soon receive about fifty buses. We are in the process of reorganizing ourselves so that public transport is a reality with well-defined axes.

Tell us what efforts have been made at the level of decentralized cooperation ?

We put a lot of effort. We are conducting several offensives in this context. We work in particular with a Tunisian partner on the development of the banks of the Niger River. This is a very big project for us which will ensure that our city turns towards its river.. I will also be going to Iran this Wednesday 8 June still within the framework of decentralized cooperation activities. This is an area that is particularly close to our hearts and in which we currently have a rather satisfactory record..

What are your political ambitions ?

Every politician has ambitions. Political parties are created to seek state power, conquer it and maintain it. Let's forget my person, my logic is that my political party can conquer power and exercise it one day. That's what it was created for. Personally, I'm good where I am.

Are you satisfied with the Nigerien democratic experience ?

I think that in democratic matters, there are still things to improve in Niger as everywhere else. I'm not satisfied yet. We seek the best for our country. my wish, is that we can improve all that we can within the framework of governance. We can rely on what is best done elsewhere. The African democratic experience has evolved. There are advances everywhere. We must now improve on the basis of what we already have.

Interview by Grassien SETONDJI