OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF PLATEAU STATE,
MARCH 18, 2018.

PRESS STATEMENT

GOV LALONG BAGS THE NATION’S MERIT AWARD

Plateau State Governor, Rt Hon Simon Lalong, has been nominated by THE NATION Newspaper for a special award for his selfless, exemplary and meritorious services to Plateau State since he assumed office as Executive Governor nearly 3 years ago.

Governor Lalong’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mark Longyen, in a statement on Sunday, said the Governor has been selected for the merit award in recognition of his giant strides in the area of “Food and Agricultural Development in Plateau State and Nigeria.”

According to the Governor’s Media Aide, Lalong’s nomination is contained in a letter to the Governor, signed by Mr Sam Omatseye, the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the newspaper.

The statement said that Omatseye, congratulated the Governor on the recognition accorded him by the Board of THE NATION, Nigeria’s leading tabloid, stressing that the Governor’s commitment to selfless service in the sector had culminated in his selection.

It further said the Governor will receive the award on April 26, 2018 alongside other deserving awardees during THE NATION’s maiden special Summit on Food and Agriculture, slated for Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotel, with President Mahammadu Buhari as Special Guest of Honor.

Longyen added, “It would be recalled that Governor Lalong had on assumption of office made Agriculture and Rural Development one of the 5 key policy thrusts of his administration and put in place a plethora of strident measures to ensure the diversification of the state’s economy to a very robust agricultural economy as its mainstay.

“These measures have culminated in the resuscitation of the state’s Fertilizer Blending Plant in Bokkos, now operating at optimal capacity, the resuscitation of the 60-year-old hitherto abandoned Panyam Fish Farm, the repurchase of the state’s BARC Farms earlier sold out, resuscitating the Heipang Dry Port, embarking on large scale rice production, embarking on the multibillion naira Irish Potato Value Chain, as well as the recent procurement of 400 new tractors for the Tractor Borrowing Scheme, among many others.”

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GOV LALONG BAGS THE NATION’S MERIT AWARD