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| Ambassador Gideon Davou |
By
Udante Ugante
March
29, 2019
The Transition Committee Chairman of
Jos South Local Government, Ambassador Gideon Davou has stated that why Simon
Lalong was overwhelmingly re-elected by the people of Plateau state was because
he was able to engage all the 53 different ethnic nationalities in the state.
Davou made this statement in a chat
with African Drum in his office
today. According to the Chairman, “Whether we like it or not, Plateau state is a multi-ethnic and
multi-religious state. But everybody has been carried along. If you have been
following this administration closely, Lalong was able to engage all the 53
ethnic nationalities in the last four years in his appointments and I believe
this has endeared the administration in the minds of the people of the state
which led to his re-election”.
The
Council boss said that the re-election of Governor Lalong did not come to him
as a surprising because he has delivered on his mandate and the people have
enjoyed the dividends of democracy in the last four years. “This obviously is
what prompted the people to re-elect him to pilot the affairs of the state for
the next four years".
The Chairman stated that another issue that
earned Lalong’s re-election was because his administration's commitment to the
workers in the state most especially in prompt payment of workers’ salaries and
other emolument adding that it was for this reason that the workers also
showed their solidarity by coming out en-mass and voted him for second tenure.
“His
re-election is not surprising to us on the Plateau because he has delivered on
his mandate and the people have enjoyed the dividends of democracy in the last
four years. This obviously is what prompted the people to re-elect him to pilot
the affairs of the state for the next four years.”
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| Ambassador Gideon Davou |
He further described Governor Lalong as
a peace builder stressing that for the period that he has been in office, he
has been working assiduously to ensure that peace is restored on the
Plateau. “You would agree with me that
even in the 5 policy thrust of this administration, peace and security is the
first. Now, the local governments being an extension of the state government by
the definition in the constitution, we have also keyed into the policy.
“Consequently, in my local government,
unlike how bad it was before now, in terms of security, we only witness pockets
of insecurity situation. And as I am speaking, there is no community in Jos
South whose people have been displaced. No community is displayed in Jos South
for the period of 20 months that I have been in charge as Chairman”.
He said it was for this reason that
there was elite and religious gang up against Governor Lalong in 2019. “But
thank God, the people of Plateau State are more wisher now than before that is
why despite the gang-up, they still went
ahead and voted the Governor for a another contract of four years”.
On
the decision of Senator Jeremiah Useni to challenge the outcome of the governorship
result in court, the Chairman said the decision is in line with tenets of democracy.
“In democracy, aggrieved parties have the
right to seek redress in court and I feel it’s the proper way to challenge. But I want to
draw the attention of the people of Plateau State particularly the opposition
that is heading to the tribunal.
"If you go down memory lane; in 1983 before
Plateau State was divided into Nasarawa State, we had the executive Governor of
the State, who was Chief Solomon Daushep Lar who won his re-election in 1983
with only 2,000 votes. In in 2003, the then Governor Chief Joshua Dariye won
his re-election 2003 with a margin of 6,500 votes.
"But it would interest you to
know that Lalong won his election with a margin of almost sixty thousand votes.
That tells you that the people have spoken so for somebody to say that the
election was rigged is funny.
"Facts
and figures are there and I can assure you it’s a waste of time. They are just
wasting their time and I know that at the end of the day, victory would still
come our way. So we are not worry at all" said Davou.
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