By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong on Thursday said that arrests have been made over the recent incidences relating to killing of a Traditional Ruler in Foron District, of Barkin Ladi LGA, the Killing of a DSS operative in Shendam ,as well as the killing of 5 people in Vwang District of Jos South Local Government among others.

He further said that these perpetrators and their sponsors will soon be brought before the law.

Lalong made this known while speaking at a one day roundtable discussion with community stakeholders to commemorate Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary held at Government house Rayfield Jos .

The Governor said his adminstration has vowed that it will never budge in it’s duty towards protecting the lives and properties of its people.

“No amount of blackmail and desperation will deter us from this task.”
We have drawn the battle line with criminals and together with security agencies remain steadfast in securing our State
He said that the first cardinal objective of the rescue administration in Plateau State is to ensure “Peace, Security and Good Governance”.

“It was conceived with the aim of tackling head-on the myriad of security challenges and civil unrests that characterized the better part of the last decades in the State. When we came on board, we came with a pre-conceived mindset to end the violence and break the conflict trap.

” It was against this background that we established the Plateau Peace Building Agency as well as took several other steps to arrest the vicious cycle of violence that militated against the socio-economic development of our people.”

Lalong said that the fundamental role of the Peace Building Agency is to engage with long standing issues of conflict while also acting proactively to de-escalate tension through the facilitation of systematic dialogue between conflict parties or communities.

He said that it is the earnest desire of his administration to bequeath an enduring legacy of a stable and prosperous Plateau by the end of his term in office.

“To achieve this objective, the Peace Building Agency has enjoyed the support of government and partner organisations in its operations.”
“This has endeared the Peace Agency to a wide range of stakeholders. It has also accorded it the needed impetus to leverage on its expertise and sense of neutrality to build consensus over thorny and often divisive issues of conflict within its few years of existence.”
“That is why today, Plateau State is gradually regaining its status as the choice destination for visitors, investors and residents from within and outside the country. Just this Monday, we flagged off the inaugural flight by Max Air from Abuja to Jos which testifies to the confidence that is being rebuilt in our State.”

Lalong said that Nigeria has made great achievements as a people having weathered the storm to forge a common destiny for ourselves.

“Our ability to always bounce back, even stronger, each time we are knocked over by socio-political or economic trials speaks volume about our abiding faith, hope, resilience and determination to keep a date with destiny.”

“You will agree with me that at the dawn of independence in 1960, those aspects of our public life that united us as a people were more pronounced and better appreciated than those that seemed to have appealed to our sectional or primordial interests today.
“Presently, the story of Nigeria may not reflect what our founding fathers had in mind when they fought for independence, but I firmly believe that the present challenges confronting us as a country is a passing phase that is crucial to building a virile, peaceful and united country at the long run.

"Although we now enjoy substantial Peace, we are not living under the illusion that all the conflict issues in Plateau state have completely been resolved. On the contrary, we are very much aware of the security threats emanating from the legacies of decades of violence which are being exploited by the merchants of evil to create chaos at all cost and at the expense of the lives of innocent citizens.

Lalong called on citizens of the country not to despair but rather see this as a clarion call to deploy our human and material resources for the common good of Nigeria.

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My administration will never allow the return of violence in Plateau ” – Lalong