News reaching ViewPointNigeria indicates that the minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung, has denied that there was a clash between his supporters and those of the Governor of Plateau state, Mr. Simon Lalon, in Shendam during the Christmas break.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Anibeze, Dalung  said the story was not only a media fabrication but an attempt to generate confusion and erode confidence in the minds of the great people of Plateau against the current leadership.

The statement read, “I read with serious concern, stories making rounds about a purported clash between my supporters and those of the executive governor  of Plateaw state, when I honoured him at a festival of the Goemai ethnic group in Shendam. I was at a function with the governor and it not only went smoothly but was very cordial.  Fabricating such a story may be the handiwork of idle minds who  benefit from crisis of political differences.”

The minister added that Lalong was not only a close friend but also a colleague, whom like every other governor in the present dispensation, is feeling the brunt of the challenges of paucity of funds and huge debt accrued from the past dispensation.

It would be recalled, that earlier reports emanating from Jos alluded to a clash between the two personalities – with many already opining that the minister was eyeing the gubernatorial seat in 2019.

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Dalung denies clash with Lalong at Goemai festival