The controversy began on Wednesday when an official announced the implementation of the state's liquor law which he said prohibited the sale of the product in certain parts of the state.
The Governor of Niger State, Umar Bago, said on Thursday that his government did not authorise the prohibition of the sale of alcohol in the state.
Mr Bago said he is yet to constitute the liquor board and accused Ibrahim Muhammad, who claimed to be the Secretary of the board, of being an impostor.
He also ordered the arrest of Mr Muhammad, who released the statement announcing the ban.
"The public should disregard the report emanating from social media and blogs," the governor said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
"We wish to state categorically that the governor, who has been busy initiating and overseeing many people-centred projects across the state, never issued such a directive."
He said the liquor and licensing board is yet to be constituted by the governor and as such, no directive of this kind can come from a board yet to be formed.
The statement added that Mr Bago had directed security agents to arrest Mr Muhammad, describing him as a self-appointed secretary of the board.
"We invite the good public and our friends in the media to ignore any such pronouncements and to, henceforth, seek clarification from known government officials," the statement added.
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The board secretary whom Mr Bago disowned is a career civil servant on the board. He told PREMIUM TIMES that he served as the secretary of the former board whose tenure expired on 29 May.
He told PREMIUM TIMES that the office of the head of the civil service invited him on the matter on Thursday. But the governor's office has yet to reach out to him.
The governor's spokesperson, Bologi Ibrahim, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking clarification.
Controversy
The controversy began on Wednesday when Mr Muhammad said to be acting on behalf of the board, announced the implementation of the state's liquor law which he said prohibited the sale of the product in certain parts of the state.
He said the prohibition is outlined in the first schedule of the state's liquor law.
The law prohibits the sale of alcohol within eight kilometres of settlements in nine local government areas, as some parts of the law obtained by this newspaper show.
A copy of the law provided by Mr Muhammad, on Wednesday, listed the local government areas affected including Minna, Bida, Suleja, Kontagora, Lappai, Agaie, Kagara, New Bussa and Mokwa.
In Minna, Bida, Suleja, Kontagora, Lapai and Agaie, the law prohibits the sale of alcohol in all areas within an eight-kilometre radius of the towns from the old Post office excluding the Military Barracks.
The law also prohibits the sale in all areas within eight kilometres radius of the town from the Emir's Palace in Kagara, and New Bussa and that of the district head in Mokwa.
