By Ezekiel Sunday
Weeks after rejigging his cabinet with the infusion of new enablers, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, and his team retreated to retool themselves towards enhanced service delivery on the Plateau.
The retreat which was held at the serene Miango Rest Home in the Bassa local government area of the State had in attendance, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, his Deputy, Josephine Piyo, Secretary to the Government of the State, Samuel Jatau, the Chief of Staff, Jeremiah Satmak, the Head of Service, Stephen Gadong, State Executive Council members, some Special Advisers, Chairmen of Commissions, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executives and Heads of Agencies, Boards and Parastatals, Development Partners, and critical non-state actors and had as a theme: That Plateau May Shine.
The period presented an opportunity for a collective reassessment and realignment of the vision and mission of the “The Time Is Now Administration,” for positive impacts as the attendees reviewed the Plateau State Development Framework (PSDF) 2023–2027, assessing its implementation progress, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned.
The attendees, among other things, also examined the philosophy and thrust of the 2025 Budget of Consolidation and Sustainability, discussed ways of enhancing inter-agency coordination and collaboration, promoting stakeholders’ engagement, and enhancing communication strategies, crisis management, and partnership-building for inclusive development.
They explored revenue diversification, financial sustainability, strengthening transparency and accountability, leveraging technology for governance to achieve improved service delivery, citizens’ engagement, and cybersecurity compliance.
Setting the tone for the high-level Executive Retreat, which was held from February 9 – 15, 2025, Governor Mutfwang explained “The Time Is Now” governance philosophy and stressed that appointees must work as a team to let Plateau State come to the manifestation of her full potential. He insisted on a mindset reorientation that would critically change the quality and pattern of their thinking to bring about good policies that can birth projects to actualize the development aspirations of the Plateau people.
Being conscious of his promise not to fail citizens, he said, “May it not be that our people are unfortunate because we are on duty. When you are on duty, we must see results. The Time has come, and the Time is Now when political appointees and civil servants must arise and do something for ourselves and by ourselves by becoming solution providers to the myriad of challenges facing the people and leaving behind an enduring legacy.
The Governor charged the appointees to be united and consider their appointment as an opportunity to change the narrative of Plateau for the better.
The exercise was successful as the communique issued at its end stated that participants, with renewed vigor, determination, and commitment to Make Plateau Shine, resolved to undertake a mindset of re-orientation so that their good thinking would result in good governance for Plateau.
The conferees also vowed to stay focused and be diligent in the execution of the core vision of the Time Is Now philosophy, which is Sustainable Economic Rebirth, Peace, Security, and good governance, as well as robust physical Infrastructural Development.
They assured of returning to and imbibing the long-held values of transparency, righteousness, love, unity and integrity etc. which made Plateau State a leading centre of excellence, peace and prosperity, explore strategic funding options through networking with multi-lateral organizations and the diaspora, deploy technology in governance and undertake data-based decision-making for development.
They also promised to mainstream strategic communication to pro-actively project the Plateau narrative, promote and strengthen transparency processes and practices, observe, promote, and maintain a healthy lifestyle and mental health for optimal productivity, and mainstream and strengthen the standard monitoring and evaluation, and learning framework to track progress and assess performance in service delivery.
Already, citizens are excited about the outcome of the retreat as Mani Imman, the National Coordinator of the Plateau Patriotic Front opined that “with the appointees being refreshed and energized, we are optimistic that the knowledge gained would give them fresh insights and renewed strength to improve the quality of governance.”
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