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| Senator Jonah David Jang |
PLSG descends heavily on Jang, says his tenure as Governor the worst in the
history of Plateau State.
By Udanta Ugante
January 10, 2019
Plateau
State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr. Yakubu Dati has reacted to
the comment attributed to the immediate past governor of Plateau State, Senator
Jonah Jang, where the former governor alleged that Governor Simon Lalong
governs the state from Abuja.
The former
governor was also reported to have said that he did not build the Government
House at Little Rayfield for Governor Lalong to occupy.
However, in
a statement this morning and a copy made available to African Drum, Dati expressed shock at the comments made by the
former governor during what he described as a ‘poorly attended’ rally of the
PDP in Mangu adding that it is unfortunate that Jang could face the people of
Plateau and make claims to good governance when his tenure as governor has been
one of the worst in the history of Plateau State.
The
commissioner stated that it is rude of Jang who has been charged to court by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for alleged theft of
Plateau money to talk down on the same people he had caused untold hardship and
suffering to, through the harsh policies of his administration which recognized
only family and friends and to also remind them of the arrogant and divisive
manner he had governed the state.
He said
people expected the former governor to be contrite and show remorse for the
damage he had done the state and to hide his face in shame for failing to live
up to the promise he made before he became governor; that he will not loot the
treasury until such a time when he has cleared himself of all the allegations
of graft standing against him.
The
commissioner said the comments by the former governor at Mangu was a
reenactment of the arrogance, high handedness, contempt and insensitivity
to the plight of the people the previous administration was known for, which
had thrown the state into crises and caused Plateau so much pain and agony
while giving a few in the former governor’s family circle the opportunity to
plunder the state.
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| Gov Simon Lalong |
“You will
recall that the former governor had made a similar boast when he was in
office to the effect that he will not hand over the keys to the new Government
House to anyone outside his family circle, but the people of Plateau in 2015
reminded him through their votes that firstly; he did not build the Government
House with his money and secondly; that they knew the essence of democracy and
cannot allow one man dictate to them who should govern them”. He said
Dati further
stated that it is also rather sad that a man who has been governor for eight
years will speak of governance in the most pedestrian manner.
Stressing that
while it is not true that Lalong governs Plateau from Abuja (whatever that
means) he said that the point should be made that the importance of getting the
support of the federal government to complement the efforts of the state
government towards bringing development to the state cannot be downplayed.
He said:
“Governor Lalong, well aware that the state stands to benefit from interfacing
with other tiers of government has not shied away from taking the Plateau
Project to a higher level and exerting his skill of persuasion as a
lawyer, to attract attention and development to the state.
“That is why
in less than two years after he assumed office, Governor Lalong has been able
to complete the projects abandoned by the former administration, clear the
backlog of 7 months salaries, pension and gratuity left by the Jang
administration, reopened the Fertiliser blending plant and Plateau State
University, revived the Highland bottling company, Panyam fish farm,
supply tractors and fertilizers to farmers and achieve sustainable peace in the
state."
“These are
welcome departure from the tenure of Jang where, due to lack of capacity and
inability to interface beyond clannish cleavages, the state was thrown into
needless crises to the extent that many agencies and parastatals of the federal
government with presence in the state were being relocated to other parts of
the country.”
“Plateau
people have not forgotten that under his watch, a serving Senator and a Hon.
Member of the State Assembly were killed in questionable circumstances”.
The
commissioner said that Governor Lalong runs an all inclusive government
and that unlike his predecessor, does not in any way regard himself as being
above the people of the state so cannot dictate to the people.
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| Jang during the flag-off of Plateau state PDP campaign in Mangu Local Government on Friday last week |
He said if
however, recent developments in the state were anything to go by, then
Jang should be reminded that the people of Plateau have rejected him and his
party and that the disgrace and humiliation they suffered in 2015 would be a
child’s play compared to what would come to them in the next elections.
“Many
prominent members of his party and those in his close circle have left and
joined the APC, while many are on their way. This is a way of telling him that
the people have not forgotten the years of bigotry and parochialism, sleaze and
avarice as well as unnecessary divisions that reigned during his tenure as
governor and that they wouldn’t want a repeat of such,” Dati stated.
The
commissioner said the former governor was also reported to have said that after
being governor for eight years that nobody knows the ‘secret’ of winning
elections in Plateau better than him. Governor Lalong on the other hand does
not believe there’s any ‘secret’ or act of voodoo to winning elections other
than serving the people well.
“It is
obvious that Jang believed more in this secret way of winning elections in the
past and that was why he neither served the people well, nor submitted to their
wish, the main reason why he suffered a humiliating defeat in 2015.
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| Hon Yakubu Dati, Commissioner of Information and Culture, Plateau State |
“Lalong is
serving the people excellently through well thought-out programmes and policies
of his administration and has been able to put viable projects in place,
endearing him to the well meaning people of the state. There is no other
‘secret’ to winning Plateau other than this. And With the gradual relocation of
the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their original places of abode,
Lalong has again moved the bar of leadership a notch higher", Dati concluded.
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