The news of the dissolution of members of the Plateau state Executive Council by Gov. Lalong a forthnoght ago was received with wild jubilation by many a patriotic Plateau citizen who believe the snail developmental speed of the incumbent administration needs reinvigoration by injecting fresh blood and ideas into the administration.

That gave rise to high expectation of quality and competent hands to be appointed to help sail the ship of governance in Plateau state to coast on the shore of development.
Alas! The entire exercise turns out to be a mirage and the worse political suicide witnessed in the state in recent times.

It is no gain say that the governor, by virtue of constitutional provisions, reserves the power to hire and fire members of his cabinet without interference from any quarters; but such actions must be in the best interest of the state, rather than any parochial considerations.

The new list of commissionership nominees submitted for screening to the state legislature by the governor, wherein names of 13 out of the 17 dissolved commissioners with 5 new addition are contained, portrays the Lalong administration as not only confused, but also lacking in constructive idealism to lead the state on the path of development.

At the risk of sounding critical of the Lalong administration, I make bold to say that the dissolution was a needless exercise if the governor had this much confidence in his cabinet members.
Without equivocation, the exercise was lacking in wisdom as it paralyzed activities at the various ministries during the period of their dissolution, while subjecting the commissioners to another rigours of screening at the state legislature, thereby putting undue pressure on the scarce resources of the state for that purpose.

Similarly, the 13 returning commissioners would be entitled to fresh paraphernalia of office, since their appointments are new, and they are subjected to new rounds of screening (I stand to be corrected).

There is no disputing the fact that a handful of the reappointed commissioners were round pegs in round holes that had performed meritoriously in their previous ministries, but sacking them before reappointing has a way of hampering their psychological make up, which will ultimately affect their inputs subsequently. The whole scenario can be likened to abruptly stopping a car moving in full speed on a high way, then start it all over again. It certainly cannot pick up at the same speed it was before the ‘unnecessary’ stopage. A lot of valuable time must have been wasted in the process; and time is what Plateau people don’t have in their desire to see democracy dividends under the present administration.

My earnest submission is that, a mere cabinet reshuffle would have sufficed in the circumstance; where the thirteen returned commissioners could easily be moved to whatever ministries the governor feels their services would be best utilised, while the new appointees would simply be screened and assigned portfolios.

It should be a matter of serious concern to every patriotic citizen of Plateau state that the government went ahead to create six more ministries to accommodate the five newly added commissioners amidst very scarce resources.
I can’t fathom the wisdom behind creating more ministries when the existing ones are not given the needed funding to perform optimally. The least Plateau state need at this period of our existence is the creation of additional burden to its lean resources when many basic amenities are lacking in our rural settlements. The governor should understand that the overall good of Plateau state surpasses his personal aggrandizement or political patronage.

With this singular act of political miscalculation by Governor Lalong, many a doubting Thomas would have enough reasons to be convinced, in all honesty, that the governor was actually a political mistake on the Plateau who must be purged out in 2019, in order for the state to move forward.

May I end this article with a clarion call on the electorate of Plateau state to look beyond APC, PDP or any party affiliation in their choice of elected leaders come 2019. While I called on our youth to be vanguards of peace, and not to allow themselves being used by desperate politicians for their selfish reasons.
We must ensure we vote only competent leaders with impeccable track records of achievements in their previous undertakings, so as to inject our state with the desired leadership mix, possessing the willpower to turn our fortunes for good.

Plateau is greater than any individual’s parochial interest or party affinity. We all must put hands on deck to bequeath a better Plateau to the younger generation.

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THE FOLLY OF LALONG’S CABINET RECONSTITUTION AND ENLARGEMENT – Dennis Danladi Yillah