By Nanmwa Golok

Recently the Plateau State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) appealed to its members who defected during its protracted crisis to return in the interest of the party. Its state Chairman Hon Damishi Sango, made the appeal in his office in Jos the state capital. The party, which ruled Plateau for 16 years before losing to the APC in 2015, has lost some of its key members to the APC during the prolonged litigations between Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi Prominent among them are former Governor Joshua Dariye, a member of the House of Representative from Jos East/Jos South Constituency Hon. Edward Pwajok, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Yusufu Gagdi. Sango said:

“First of all, we are not blaming some of our members who defected in the course of our conflict. But now that the conflict that propelled their action has been resolved at the level of Supreme Court, such members should endeavour to come back to the party. “Just as ôur National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said after the court verdict, no victor, no vanquish, it is only a victory to democracy. We are therefore appealing to some of our members who left the party during the internal conflict to come back because PDP is our party, it is not my party or for any individual, we still consider them as our members and we are looking forward to them coming back soon.

“Nigerians need PDP now because the party that offered itself as alternative party to PDP has failed Nigerians, so Nigerians now understand the difference, what APC has failed to achieve in two years, I wonder if they can make it up in the next one year of their tenure. So PDP remains the only hope for our nascent democracy. Sango said the PDP has realised its mistakes of 2015 and learnt from them, adding that PDP remained the only dependable party in 2019. He added: “We have assured all members who defected to another party in the course of our conflict that they should have the confident to return to their original party because we are not going to victimize anyone as a result of that.

“The party will allow a level playing ground for all members, we have vowed that there will be no imposition of candidate in any election, every member, no mater your status, will be allowed to exercise his or her democratic rights, all we are after is to come out with the best candidates that will fly the flag of the party in subsequent elections in the state. “We are reaching out to the former members that left during the conflict, there is going to be a reconciliation committee at the state level, the committee shall reach out to such members, everyone is important to the party, PDP remains the people’s party.”

In Plateau it is a well known fact some chieftains of the PDP worked against the Party in the 2015 elections because of some differences and as the 2019 governor ship elections draws closer , our correspondent observed that some key stakeholders in the state who were formerly members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP have decamped to the ruling All Progressive Congress APC ,on a daily basis in the state and more PDP members have indicated their interest to decamp to the APC . Some eleven Months ago , the Peoples Democratic Party PDP suffered a major blow as a former Governor and now Senator representing Plateau Central in the Senate ,Joshua Dariye dumped the party alongside over two hundred thousand persons to the APC. Not long after that ,a former deputy speaker Yusuf Gagdi and the member representing Mikang Daniel Nanlong defected to the APC , Similarly some months ago, the Federal lawmaker representing Jos South/Jos East in the house of representative Edward Pwajok also dumped the PDP for the APC in the state,our correspondent also observed that all this stakeholders who dumped the PDP for APC in the state said the leadership crisis in the PDP was responsible for their decamping. Just recently the member representing Pengana constituency in the state house of assembly ,Ezeikel Afon decamped to the APC alongside thousands of his supporters A letter by Afon, announcing his defection was read at plenary by the Speaker of the House, Mr Peter Azi.

With the defection, the APC now has 17 members, while the PDP has seven in the state house of assembly. The 8th Assembly in the state was inaugurated on June 10, 2015, with the PDP forming the majority with 13 members and APC had 11. Series of defection from PDP to the ruling APC has reduced the PDP to minority in the 24-member assembly in the last two years. According to the letter of defection, Afon cited the lingering crisis the PDP as reason for his defection. Afon had said “Mr Speaker, you will recall that I was elected and later inaugurated into this House on the platform of the PDP. “But for over a year, the PDP has been plunged in serious crisis which brings about existence of two factions with parallel leadership at the national to the wards level. “So, in consultation with my constituents, I have decided to denounce my membership from PDP to become a bonifide member of the APC,’’

It could be recalled that a social political group operating under the aegis of Plateau Regeneration Group had recently commended the lawmaker representing Pengana constituency in the state house of assembly Ezekiel Afon ,for decamping to the All Progressive congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP . The group further said that there is no future for the PDP in the State as its members are leaving the party for the APC in the state on daily basis . This was contained in a statement signed by Nagelu Garba ,the National President of the group and Pius Hommen, the National Secretary and made available to newsmen in Jos recently.

The statement reads that “the entire Pengana constituency celebrates and applauds the member for his bold and courageous move and welcomes the honourable member to the APC . “As a major stake holder and key player in the total development of his people, the wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise the honourable member would bring to the APC is highly appreciated as his achievements in the entire Pengana area speak volumes “. “The defection of the honourable member to the APC reveals a lot about the moribund and comatose state of the PDP.”

The group also hailed Gov Simon Lalong for his efforts at providing dividends of democracy to the people of the state stressing that this is attracting more citizens of the state to the APC. Our correspondent also gathered that more persons especially more lawmakers are decamping to the APC soon, a source who spoke to our correspondent said, some persons are in touch with the leadership of the APC and have indicated interest to decamp to APC the APC . He said “Lalong is doing excellently well and this has made the people of the state to support him and the party .he is doing well and people of the state are with him ,there would be mass decamping of more persons from the PDP to the APC. Before now , Plateau state was governed by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP until the April 2015 elections. It could be recalled that Governor Simon Lalong’s victory in the 2015 general election can be said to have been handed over to him by the electorate in the state. The people had determined that power must shift to the Southern zone of Plateau State and that they did and watched over until the victory was declared.

The governor, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, defeated the late Senator Gyang Pwajok of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his very first outing for the position. His victory was later affirmed by the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, respectively. As the last count , the PDP in the state is losing its members to the APC , while the rank of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC is swelling as recently over 343 ,000 PDP members alongside the Senator representing Plateau central Joshua Dariye , former deputy governor ,Ignatius LongJang , deputy speaker Yusuf Gagdi , decamped to the APC , most of the decampees said the good work Gov Lalong is doing in the state attracted them to the APC.

A PDP member in Plateau state Laurence Peter , who spoke to our correspondent said APC in Plateau now has waxed stronger in Plateau , according to him , Governor Simon Lalong has done a lot in providing dividends of democracy in Plateau in the past two years and the people of Plateau are behind him ” He said , construction of roads abandoned projects have started, plans are on the way to rebuild the terminus market ,the Highland bottling company , the Jos International Breweries ,the Barc Farm among other laudable project ,”also civil servants and traders are behind him because he is paying salaries regularly and also providing environment for business in the state , for now I think APC has come to stay in Plateau , Gov Lalong is correcting the wrongs of the PDP , so the people are behind him “. He said Remark Ditep , a citizen of Plateau state from Mangu local government said Lalong has won the hearts of citizens of the state as a result of his developmental projects and his quest to provide dividend of democracy to the people.

We are calling on him to contest the 2019 governorship elections , we would support him , if he recontest , he said,Lalong has been nicknamed as Gov Bank alert by citizens of the state especially civil servants because of the prompt payment of salaries and pensions, we are calling on him to re contest the 2019 elections , he has done pretty well.” Isaac Kwalo, a citizen of Plateau state from the Southern Senatorial zone in Plateau said ,from what he sees there should be continuity as Lalong has done well in providing dividends of democracy since he came into power about 24 months ago and should be given an opportunity to continue in office to 2019. He is doing well and i believe he should be given the opportunity to re contest in 2019 and consolidate on his good works he is currently doing” “Lalong is turning Jos metropolis to a huge construction site with sights and sounds of road construction equipment everywhere with a view to making the city a modern destination hub for tourists , businessmen and foreign investors “, to me the opposition party has nothing to offer Plateau for now “he said Despite this the immediate past governor of Plateau State and the senator representing Plateau north in the national assembly, Jonah Jang had some months back given governor Simon Lalong of the State quite notice to leave government House Rayfield Jos come 2019.

According to Jang, governor Simon Lalong would only spend one tenure in office in view of his poor performances because the people of the state are tired of his blame game and would vote him out of office. He gave the quit notice while speaking at the constituency outreach empowerment programme organised by Hon Istifanus Gyang, the member representing Riyom / Barkin Ladi Federal constituency of Plateau State some months ago .

Also speaking recently, the Senior Ward head of Anguwan Rogo/ Anguwan Rimi and Zinaria in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Musa Abdullahi Maisantana, said Governor Lalong will have the mandate of the people of Jos North come 2019 because of his inclusive government as well as fulfilment of promises. Our correspondent reports that Governor Lalong had commenced road construction in some communities of Jos North that have been neglected since the advent of this democratic dispensation in 1999. Communities to benefit from the roads construction which has commenced include Anguwan Rogo, Anguwan Rimi, Tudun Wada, Kabong Satellite Market, Chwelnyap and Dutse Uku. He said “Lalong had promised us that he was going to construct the Anguwan Rogo/Anguwan Rimi road and that he would give us water and build us another primary school because despite our overwhelming population, we only have one school which caters for the area and he has started redeeming the pledges.

“A man who can keep to his words is an honourable man; Lalong has kept his promise and I am sure other promises made will come soon, he has secured another term in office,” he said. The ward head explained that in the beginning, most members of the community had doubted Lalong’s commitment to constructing the road because of previous disappointments by past administrations. “Past governments have deceived us that they will fix the road, and we tried to encourage our people to be optimistic but at a point we were feeling ashamed that the governments had only used us. “Lalong is a different fellow, he is carrying everybody along and we now strongly feel that we are a part of the government. May God continue to increase his wisdom,” he said.

Nagelu Garba, another citizen of Plateau said , from what is on group , the APC has come to stay in Plateau,He further told our correspondent that the developmental strides of Governor Simon Lalong is another reason why the key members of the PDP would soon decamp to the APC. Andrew Zingten a PDP member said our members of PDP are decamping to the APC because the PDP has two factions in the state and in the national level Meanwhile former commissioner for information in Plateau, Yakubu Datti has said that Lalong has done well and has won the hearts of citizens of the state . ” Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State is clearly approaching the act of governance with a sense of responsibility and the seriousness it deserves and that He made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Jos recently, He said Prior to his election, Lalong had transversed the nooks and crannies of the state connecting with individuals and groups. He took notes in every of the 67 town hall meetings he conducted, encouraging and promoting participation in the act of governance. The key findings became a burden he carried with dignity.

These evidenced based findings, which are the voices of 54 ethnic groups in the state, form the basic conceptual framework that drives his administration. For a fair assessment of the Simon Lalong’s government, the key Performance Indicator is therefore situated within the identified areas of needs expected to impact on the growth of the communities in the state. It is well known fact that Gov. Simon Lalong inherited a state in crisis caused by a self-serving regime. He knew that without peace and security, nothing tangible would be achieved in the state. Working in tandem with all arms of security apparatus, he applied his brinkmanship by initiating series of town hall meetings with all stakeholders on issue based policies sensitization and held consultative fora with the Berom and Fulani communities amongst others. These significant steps resolved some of the crisis that bedeviled the state by entrenching peace, unity and security of lives and property.

He institutionalized peace building by creating a proactive agency known as the Plateau Peace Building Agency – a significant shift from the reactionary pattern. Today, Plateau is in peace. Following the restoration of peace, the urgent need to address the demoralized civil servants became so apparent. With an inherited debt toll of over 220 billion naira, and a civil service in dire straits, Lalong assembled a whiz team of financial gurus with a clear mandate to think outside the box.

This first reward was the first and second tranches of the salary bailout, which Lalong used to offset the backlog of Civil Servants unpaid salaries, pension/gratuity. This courageously deployment of about 20 billion naira ignited the local economy and the reverberations were felt all over the state. This set the stage for a highly motivated civil service to keyed into the administration’s 5-point Policy Thrust formulated to turn around the state. The journey for an endearing legacy of service gained traction. The consistent payments of salaries thereafter, and the general welfare of the workforce, which in itself stimulated the local economy has continued to endeared him to the average Plateau man. S

imon Lalong rolled up his sleeves to face the education sector, despite the stench oozing from years of neglect. The performance of Plateau State at the WAEC examination was a disaster – 36th out of 37 States in the federation. Never known to shy away from the frontlines, Governor Lalong took the bull by the horns and changed the landscape through employment and training of teachers, construction of new classrooms, and massive injection of funds. Recently over 4000 teaching personnel were recruited on adhoc basis, while infrastructural deficit is being tackled through construction and renovation of more classrooms. More than 500 classrooms have been built and renovated in the past 2 years alone!

The Plateau State University, Bokkos has been given a new lease of life with the reconstitution of the Governing Council under the leadership of the respected Prof. Attahiru Jega as Pro-Chancellor. So far, all its 17 programmes are being accredited which in turn facilitated the mobilization of 2 sets of graduands for the NYSC scheme earlier this year, the first since its establishment. Other state tertiary institutions are also receiving the desired attention. The regular intervention in the sector has made it to run smoothly without any interruption on grounds of non-payment of salaries, which usually give rise to industrial dispute. Today, Plateau students, especially those living with disability are being supported with scholarships and grants from the rescue administration.

Lalong is also paying attention to agriculture, which is the mainstay of most of the Plateau people. About 800 trailers laden with 24 thousand metric tones of fertilizer are being offloaded to farmers at subsidized rate. The resuscitation of the Panyam Fish Farm, Bokkos Fertilizer Blending Plant, accreditation of Garkawa College of Education and the provision of soft loans to farmers have restored Plateau to its pride of place in agriculture.

In line with the yearnings for community leadership, vacant stools of Traditional institutions in the State are being filled based on laid down law and gazettes. So far, more than fifty communities cutting across all the local government areas have benefit ranging from the 1st class status Chiefs to district heads. The creation Districts and Development Areas are at its final stage of implementation, to bring development to the grassroots.

The state is also reviving and revamping its moribund industries including the Jos International breweries (JIB), Highland Bottling Company and the Jos Main Market. The reacquisition of the BARC Farms is being pursued vigorously.

In recognition of its multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature, Lalong has also entrenched equity and fairness in appointments to political offices and government patronage.

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Why the APC is waxing stronger on the Plateau – by Nanmwa Golok