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| Hon Dati |
MINISTER
OF SPORTS BLASTS LALONG FOR NAMING JOS STREET AFTER BUHARI.
- HE'S BEING USED BY THE PDP TO DISPARAGE BUHARI, SAYS DATI
By
Ayuba Jacob
The Minister for Sports and
Youths Development, Solomon Selcap Dalung has descended heavily on Governor
Simon Lalong of Plateau State for naming a newly commissioned road in Jos after
President Muhammadu Buhari. But the commissioner for information in Plateau
State, Hon. Yakubu Dati said the comment by the minister is a confirmation that
he is being used by the opposition PDP to rubbish the gains made by the APC on
account of President Buhari's visit to the state.
The minister, yesterday took
to his Facebook page to criticize the Plateau State governor and described the
naming of the road after Buhari as a disaster. He said the decision to name the
street after President Buhari was borne out of desperation by the governor to
secure a second term in 2019.
Said Dalung: "Another
disaster of the President’s visit was the renaming of Yakubu Gowon way to
Muhammadu Buhari way. To say the least, it is embarrassing.
" Gowon was the
President’s boss how can he be stripped of a 40 years privilege and honour in
his home state? This is the worst thing that can happen to a man like the elder
statesman. I believed that General Gowon is feeling betrayed and abandoned by
his own people.
"This is a political
decision of Lalong desperately taken to secure 2019 ambition but not the
decision of the people of plateau. We condemned this act with all sense of love
for Yakubu Gowon as a father, while advising Governor Alert to withdraw this
unpatriotic decision and publicly apologized to Yakubu Gowon and the President
for embarrassing them.
"If the visit of the
president was intended to secure 2019 for Lalong, it has exposed his ambition
to great risk and multiply his opponents. "
When contacted, Dati described the comments by
the minister as the "gibberish of an attention seeker bereft of logic and
fact,"
Throwing more light on the
issue, the commissioner said the truth of the matter is that the Yakubu Gowon
way still exists as no road was renamed. He further explained that the
"Muhammadu buhari way" starts at Mararaban Jama'a round-about through
Anguldi and Bukuru express way then ends at Ta'en round-about adding that the
existing Yakubu Gowon way starts at same Ta'en junction through building
materials - Zarmaganda junction, Miango - Old Airport junctions through
secretariat overhead bridge and ends at plateau specialist hospital
round-about.
He further explained that the
D. B Zang road starts from the plateau specialist hospital round-about and ends
at Hill-Station round-about. Joseph Gomwalk road then starts from
Hill-station round-about and ends at Polo Club round-about while Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan way starts at Polo round-about through kabong (gada Biu)
overhead bridge to new Zaria road stadium and ends at Farin gada round-about
Dati said by giving the
impression that the portion known as Yakubu Gowon was renamed, Dalung was
trying to invent lies in order to score cheap political points. The
commissioner said if the minister had bothered to cross check his facts rather
than conspiring with opposition leaders, he would have been saved the
embarrassment of ignorant exhibitionism technological inexactitude.
He said the Lalong
administration is proud to name the stretch of road from Maraban Jamaa round
about to Taen roundabout after the President because it is the tradition the
world over to name projects after the dignitaries that commission them.
He said that explains the
road from Polo round-about through Kabong (Gada Biu) overhead bridge to new
Zaria road stadium which ends at Farin Gada round-about was named after former
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Dati said if the minister
had the presence of mind to observe things when President Buhari visited
Plateau rather than looking for faults, he would have noticed that the people
of the state were jubilant over all the courtesies extended to Mr. President
including the naming of the road after him and would not have been asking
whether the decision is that of the governor alone.
The commissioner said if
Dalung has any sense of history and respect for elder statesmen, he would have
excused General Yakubu Gowon's name from his bid to settle personal scores and
wondered why anybody of Dalung's political standing can say Lalong is afraid of
him politically when the highest he has gone in his political journey is to be
appointed a caretaker chairman of a local government during the illegal
administration that was contrived to replace Dariye's in 2006.
Dati said in all the minister’s
political outing, he has been floored mercilessly by his opponents including
Beni Lar, who trashed him at the PDP primary for Langting North/Langtnag South
federal constituency in 2007 and when he was defeated at the APC governorship
primary by Lalong in the build up to the 2015 elections.
"This is a minister who
has been a monumental embarrassment to Plateau State due to his illogic and
asinine comments in the past like when he said Nigeria can never win the World
Cup or when he said Nigerian athletes do not need to prepare to win
tournaments.
"It is instructive to
note the APC has never won election in his ward or his local government of
Langtang South"
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