Lalong warns commissioners, Says I won’t take excuses

By Golok Nanmwa,Jos

Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong , on Tuesday warned his Commissioners and Political appointees saying that he would not tolerate excuses from them as they are expected to deliver quality service to the people of the state.

” There would be no room for laziness ,lethargy , negligence and outright disregard for government directives as severe consequences await anyone who decides to sabotage our efforts “.

He made this known while declaring open a retreat for members of the State Executive Council which took place at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic studies NIPSS .

The governor tasked the commissioners on loyalty, diligence, commitment, probity and accountability, noting that the attributes were crucial to the state’s development plans and key to realising the three-pillar policy thrust of the administration.

“The policy thrusts are hinged on peace, security and good governance, physical infrastructural development and sustainable economic rebirth.

In his words “You will recall that I swore in the new Honourable Commissioners on the 7th October 2019 where I clearly stated that our Rescue Administration has so much to do within a short time and would ensure that every second counts as it delivers on its Next Level Agenda.”

” Prior to the constitution of the State Executive Council, I approved a state-wide familiarization tour of the seventeen Local Government Areas by the appointees, cutting across the three geo-political zones of the State. The successful tour provided them opportunity to interact and engage in peer review with policy makers at the grassroots.
“I also directed that the appointees study the 5-Year Plateau State Strategic Development Plan developed by the Boston Consulting Group to enable them hit the ground running and stay on target in implementing our Party’s Agenda and Campaign promises.”
“There was also a training workshop for the Commissioners shortly after their swearing-in which further gave them an opportunity to understand the direction of government and also discuss their strategies as they settle down for business of governance.”
“All these were preparatory to this intensive retreat starting today which is the high point of our deliberate efforts at equipping the machinery of government to deliver on the task of serving our people in a result-oriented manner.
Ladies and gentlemen, this retreat with the theme “New Initiatives for Sustaining the Rescue Agenda to the Next Level” is specifically arranged for participants to interact with one another, listen to experts, constructively engage in robust discourse and deepen their understanding of the vision and philosophy of the Rescue Agenda.
This is necessary because you will be expected to demonstrate high level of synergy, collaboration and cooperation as you work together to harness the resources of government and the goodwill of our citizens in delivering good governance throughout the period of your service to our State.”
It is for this reason that we have brought in not only members of the State Executive Council, but also Permanent Secretaries and Heads of key Government Agencies with a view to creating the needed understanding and synergy in meeting our objectives as a government.”

Let me again emphasize that our Next Level Agenda is anchored on a three-pillar policy thrust namely:
i) Peace, Security, and good governance
ii) Physical Infrastructural Development, and
iii) Sustainable Economic Re-birth.
For many of our citizens, the question on their minds are; what do these policy objectives mean? How will they impact positively on their living standards? How soon will they begin to see the manifest and tangible evidence of this vision?
These and many more are the questions that we need to answer at this retreat as we sit down to plan, review, discuss, strategize, and project on what we need to put in place to get the desired answers for those who elected us and to whom we are accountable.
. I therefore expect that this retreat will take a broad look at the State of the Economy of Plateau State and discuss the plans to reposition it in line with the Economic Rebirth Vision of the Rescue Administration.
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Lalong further said ” This gathering should also take a deep look into the challenge of raising funds that are critical to achieving the goals of our administration in delivering better living standards for our people.”
. Let me emphasize that boosting the State’s revenue generation capacity, strengthening partnerships and other aspects that are captured within the MDAs’ Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) as well as the Medium Term Revenue Framework (MTRF) should be exhaustively discussed at this retreat.
I also expect that in this retreat, issues relating to planning, monitoring and evaluation will receive the needed attention. As a government, we cannot afford to waste valuable time and resources nor condone the culture of waste that denies our people good life.”

“The Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit headed by the Chief of Staff has already been mandated to ensure that the State gets value for money and to track the implementation of all Projects and Programmes through the various Key Performance Indicators.
Let me use this opportunity to remind all participants that the task before us is very daunting. It will require commitment, trust, sacrifice, diligence and accountability for us to meet the yearnings of our people.”

“There is therefore no room for laziness, lethargy, negligence and outright disregard for government directives as severe consequences await anyone who decides to sabotage our efforts.
I urge you to participate fully in the discussions during this retreat as there are many topics that have been lined up to equip us all with the tools needed for better service to our people.”
These topical issues include brief review of our policy thrust since inception; Leadership Ethics; Anti-Corruption; Protocol and Etiquette; Strategic Communication, Performance Monitoring and evaluation; among others.”

He further said “Peace remains fundamental to any form of development and we are ready to do everything possible to return Plateau State to its rightful position as the Home of Peace and Tourism.”

“It is also my hope that when this retreat is over, the issue of sustaining peace and security on the Plateau would have been exhaustively dealt with as you prepare to continue to giving the right kind of leadership to the entire workforce.”

Very soon, we shall be hosting an Economic and Investment Summit. We hope that the outcome of this retreat will facilitate the process and enable us to be more surgical in engaging the business world and marketing the potentials of our dear state to the rest of the world.
Let me commend the Secretary to the Government of the State, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Director General Research and Documentation, Chairman and Members of the Economic Management Team and all those that have worked hard in putting together a befitting retreat in this conducive and proper environment.
I also appreciate all the resource persons, our Consultants – H. Pierson and partners such as GIZ for their support towards hosting this retreat. We remain grateful to you for partnering with us to build a greater Plateau State.
Finally, while welcoming you, it is my pleasure to declare this Retreat open and wish you God’s guidance and very successful deliberations.

Speaking earlier , the Secretary to the Government of the State Professor Danladi Atu said” Governor Lalong is passionate about brining massive development to Plateau .”

In his words “The task before us during the policy is not just to listen to sound presentations but to create a serene environment for reflections ,discussions and peer reviews

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Lalong warns commissioners, Says I won’t take excuses