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| Hon Leonard Dilkon addressing a press conference today |
Former Law Maker debunks allegation
of illegal printing of INEC ballot papers, says Yiljap is being used to destroy
his outfit.
By Lovins Yakubu
February 12, 2019
Hon.
Leonard Dilkon, a business mogul and politician has denied vehemently the
allegation that his printing outfit, Hamtul press located at Bisichi Jos South
LGA of Plateau State, North Central Nigeria is engaged in illegal printing of
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ballot papers for the ruling
All Progressive Congress (APC).
Dilkon,
a former member representing Pankshin Kanam, Kanke Federal Constituency at the
National Assembly between 2007 – 2011 was responding to a recent statement by
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Plateau State Campaign Council of happenings
within a Jos-based large scale printing outfit located at Bisichi, stressing
that the party was inundated by series of reports of what appeared to be
clandestine activities within the company premises which it said were related
with the production, storage, haulage and usage off sensitive election
materials such as ballot papers.
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| Cross section of Journalists at the event |
The
campaign council’s statement which was signed by Hon. Abraham Yiljap, its chairman
media and publicity committee noted that the company has been given unusual
security cover and that latest reports reaching the PDP indicated that more
than a dozen vehicles have been spotted by the Bisichi Community conveying
people into the premises of the printing press.
The
council further stated that it was raising the public concern for certain
reasons which includes the fact that the executive once a federal law-maker
representing Plateau State and now a confident of the governor of Plateau State
and that the said company owns and operated many machines that have the
capacity for serious security-related printing.
Responding
to these allegations on Tuesday, Dilkon stated that indeed he has been in the
business of printing for 25 years and has been printing security documents for
government institutions and establishments in line with laid down procedures.
“I have received calls from within and outside the country ever since Abraham
Yiljap made the statement that we are printing security documents here. The
question is, whether it is wrong for me to print security documents here. The
answer to that question is no. I have the capacity to do that because I have
what it takes to do it. what I expected Yiljap to tell or proved to the world is
that I have been involved in printing security documents illegally. I have been
in this business for 25 years and have been printing security documents for
government, private institutions and establishments including educational
institutions and there have never been any leakages in whatever way. I have
taken you round and you have seen the kind of equipment and machines that we
have on ground and I tell you we have the capacity to handle any job and we
have been doing that for our customers both within and outside the country.”
On printing of INEC ballot papers in
particular, Dilkon said, INEC has not given him that contract but as a serious
business man that has employed many and by so doing reduced unemployment on the
streets he expected people like Yiljap to have raised their voices toward
advising INEC to give his printing outfit the contract for the printing of its
ballot papers which he said would have been perfectly done. “I expected people
like Abraham Yiljap to have been in the forefront of lobbing INEC to give me
the job of printing its ballot papers, but that was not done, instead, he
decided to be mischief so as to destroy me and my organization.” Mr. Syadmamoor
Alam, the Production Manager while speaking to African Drum said the outfit was
not involved in illegal printing of INEC ballot papers.
On
the allegation that more than a dozen vehicles have been spotted by the
community conveying people into the premises of the printing press, Hon Dilkon
said the printing press has been visited by students from various institutions
of learning from across the country on excursion. He said the recent set of
students on excursion were those from Federal College of Education (FCE)
Pankshin. This was corroborated by Kazi Sunday and Josiah Gobur both lecturers
of the College who were leading the students. According to Gobur, the former
head of Social Studies Department, “ the excursion is a compulsory course for
NCE 2 students of the Social Studies students during their first semester”
according to him, there were about 1500 students for the excursion and because
of the number, they have been grouped into 150 students per group each day for
the exercise which began last week and hoped it will be concluded next week. .
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| Syadmamoor, Project Manager Hamtul press |
On
the other allegation that he is a confident of the governor of Plateau State,
Dilkon said he cannot deny the fact that he is a friend of governor Lalong. “He
have been to the same secondary school, we did ‘A’ level together and went to
the same University. So I can’t deny the fact that Governor Lalong is my
friend. But regarding the issue under reference, why have they singled out only
Lalong to say that I am his confidant? I am also very close to Hon. Yakubu
Dogara, the speaker House of Representative who is also in the PDP. Why didn’t
he mentioned him.?”
Hon.
Dilkon said that Yiljap is a pawn in the hands of his enemies who were hell bent
on seeing that his business was destroyed. He recalled a similar incident in
2015 when he returned from his village for campaign to be told that his company
was ransacked by security operatives without search warrant on the allegation
that he was printing ballot papers for the APC . This was also collaborated by
John Ngap, a former staff in the security department now redeployed to another
department.
The
former law maker said Yiljap was being used by those that have looted the state
dry thereby, putting the citizens in a precarious situation and wouldn’t want a
legitimate businessman who is trying to bring citizens out of poverty to
achieve that laudable aim.
Dilkon
who said that thought the statement was from the campaign council of the PDP,
noted that the flag bearer of the PDP fort Governorship election, Sen. Jeremiah
Timbut Useni is innocent.
“Jeremiah
Useni is innocent I told you my experience in 2015. Was Useni the flag bearer of
the PDP in 2015? No. But Abraham Yiljap was in the team of those that
fabricated the lies that my printing outfit was printing ballot papers for the
APC. It’s a group of failures who have run the state down an also bent on
inciting for the destruction of a legitimate outfit that has employed many
people who cut across ethnic, religious
and geographical backgrounds. Yiljap is their agent but very soon, they will be
unveiled.”
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| A cross section of students of FCE Pankshin on excursion at Hamtul press today |
According
to Dilkon, the anger of those who bent on destroying his outfit was as result
of the directive by Governor Lalong that all materials which hirtheto were
taking to South Africa and other Countries for printing be given to his outfit
because of its capacity and to increase its capacity for more employment.
He
said that the statement was aimed at tarnishing his reputation and that of his
outfit adding that he would definitely seek redress in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
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