Claim: A Facebook user, Adamu Idris Manarakis, claimed that the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has employed nearly 10,000 graduates into the state civil service.
Verdict: Misleading! Official records reviewed by DUBAWA show that the Bago administration reported employing over 5,000 graduates, not nearly 10,000.
Full Text
Employment in the public service is often used by governments as an indicator of performance, particularly in states grappling with youth unemployment.
On Saturday, July 4, 2026, a Facebook user, Adamu Idris Manarakis, published a post (archived here) claiming that Governor Mohammed Bago’s administration has employed nearly 10,000 graduates in the Niger State Civil Service.
As of Monday, July 20, 2026, the post had attracted 210 reactions, 90 comments, and 35 shares.
The claim generated considerable engagement on Facebook, with many users accepting it as factual and citing it as evidence of Governor Bago’s performance. Some users praised the governor for allegedly creating jobs and improving infrastructure, while none of the sampled comments questioned the accuracy of the employment figures.
Mohammed Naibi wrote that “Nigerlites should appreciate Mr Governor for his great efforts,” adding that Governor Bago had “reduced unemployment through absorption of 10,000 youths” into the state civil service. Another user, Eedrees Zakaree, commented, “We can’t deny him that credit,” while Abdulkadir Ibn Yeruwa wrote, “Kudos to the Farmer Governor Muhammad Umar Bago.”
Because employment figures are verifiable through official government records, and the claim was being accepted and amplified on social media, DUBAWA investigated its accuracy.
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed the “Diary of Activities New Niger”, Volume 2 (May 29, 2023 – May 29, 2025). This diary is the official publication of the Niger State Government documenting the achievements of Governor Bago’s administration during its first two years in office.
We found that the government has so far employed 5,000 graduates into the State’s service.
On page 369, under the section titled “Civil Service Reforms,” the publication states, “Employment of over 5,000 graduates into the service of Niger State Government to inject fresh ideas and skills into the civil service, enhancing its overall performance and effectiveness.”
The government’s official publication reports that the number of graduates employed is over 5,000, not nearly 10,000 as claimed.
DUBAWA also found that this figure has been consistently repeated by officials of the Bago administration.
On Sept. 14, 2025, the Special Adviser on Digital Media and Strategy to the Niger State Governor, Abdullberqy Ebbo, shared a Facebook post attributed to Governor Bago from a TVC interview.
The post reads: “In Niger State, we employed over 5,000 people into the state civil service, which is unprecedented. We are building roads, hospitals; our people are happy with us.”
Similarly, on July 4, 2026, the Chief Coordinator of Media Relations to the Executive Governor of Niger State, El-Hajj Alfa Bago, reshared a Facebook post by Abdullahi Abubakar Abdullahi stating that through the Niger State Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Bago administration had provided almost 5,000 Nigerlites with permanent and pensionable jobs across ministries and agencies.
We also found an Instagram clip shared by user @zayyan01__ featuring a video of the governor stating that the Niger State Governor has employed over 5,000 people in the state civil service. The user also referenced TVC.
We conducted keyword searches to find the original TVC interview of the governor mentioned by these users, but we found none.
DUBAWA found no official record supporting the claim that the Bago administration has employed nearly 10,000 graduates into the Niger State Civil Service.
Conclusion
The claim that Governor Bago’s administration has employed nearly 10,000 graduates into the Niger State Civil Service is misleading. All available official records and statements from state officials put the figure at about 5,000.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.